Reflection of God (Pein Story)
by goddamndamndamn
Summary: Everything was as normal for Pein until something turned up unexpectedly that would change his life forever. He slowly begins to see that it's not necessarily a bad thing, however, and as it helps him, he can just as easily return the favour along the way.
1. Chapter 1

Kyo got up quickly, the sun still not having risen in the sky, as she got ready for the day.

She didn't need light to see, not only having the ability to sense where everything was but also knowing the room off by heart by now. As such she dodged past any obstacles in her way and headed straight into the bathroom, showering swiftly and continuing on with other daily tasks the moment she stepped back out onto the floor. Grabbing her clothes a second later, Kyo was ready and dressed in mere minutes, strapping her shuriken holster around her thigh as she looked out the window. The faint glow of the sun hadn't even _begun_ to show up on the horizon, giving Kyo plenty of time to head out of the room and along the corridors, knowing exactly where she was heading. What her boss would do if he found out what she was doing right now, she didn't know—but then, he'd never caught her in order to find out; and Kyo wanted to keep it that way.

Speeding around the corner, she darted through the shadows until she arrived at her destination; her boss's office. Checking over the door to see what traps he'd placed over it today, Kyo soon got to work in disabling them easily, slipping through the door as if there had been nothing wrong in the first place. The traps placed on his desk, too, were shut down in seconds, and Kyo continued with what she was doing, barely even noticing what was around her. She had worked here for the majority of her life, after all; there was nothing her boss could do that she wouldn't be prepared for—she knew him too well for that. So rummaging through the drawers of his desk, Kyo soon came across the document she was looking for:

The mission she was supposed to be doing this morning.

When it came down to it, that _was_ the reason she was there. No malicious intent behind her actions, no plans to stab her boss in the back and reveal all the information she knew to another ninja group. Kyo didn't believe in that. If you were going to join a group, it meant you were loyal to them. She had been taught about obedience enough to know that it was her main priority in her job and in her life. As such she wasn't about to make any attempts to break away. The reason she was here was for something else entirely—but she still didn't want anyone to find out. Scanning over the writing on the scroll, she memorized the contents and placed it back in its original place, setting up the traps once more as she retraced her steps through the room and back out into the hallway. Then, when Kyo was certain everything was as it should be, she turned and teleported outside, heading straight towards the exit of the house and overall estate she lived in.

The mission wasn't anything hard, and she would be finished in an hour and a bit, maximum. She would be back in her room and eating breakfast by the time her boss came to check up on her, and he wouldn't know any different. Of course, Kyo would have to lie a little and hide out for a while so he didn't find out where she'd been, but she didn't have a choice. Her boss was expecting her to complete her mission early morning; at around six or seven, and after that she would be allowed free time until he found something else for her to do. But she couldn't just sit back and let things go on like that; with how easy the missions were. Not with what had happened a week or so ago. So she had started to do her missions a little earlier; by getting up early and finishing them by the time she was supposed to only have just gotten up, it meant she had more free time where no one was expecting her back. She could have the privacy to do what she needed.

To train.

Not that Kyo didn't train normally; her boss often 'suggested' she go out and train when she had free time, in order to keep her abilities at their best and so she wouldn't slack. But when she had been training one day, she had suddenly felt power rush through her and forcing her to the ground, and when her mind had cleared and she felt normal again, she knew there was something different…something that became visible once she awakened the power within her. At first she had been completely shocked—it had come as if from nowhere. Though she didn't know much about her parents, having been orphaned when she was young, she had been pretty certain that nothing like _that_ would turn up. Yet there she was; and she _had_ to train them. If not, they would get out of control and end up destroying something, and there was no way she was letting that happen. Regardless of how they had come about and what she was going to do with them, Kyo had to make sure she knew how to use her abilities and that they were controlled.

Every day since then she had done her missions early, switching to training the moment her boss sent her off once more. Kyo had done what she could; finding out more and more about them to understand what she was to do, and then doing whatever was possible to learn the techniques it granted her. Often she snuck scrolls out of the library and studied from them at night, and had greatly improved her control and knowledge of her power as the time passed by. Progress wasn't exactly as quick as Kyo would have liked it, but she could do nothing but force herself to relax and let things happen. If she tried to push herself any further, it would make things worse.

Her mind remained on her new abilities as Kyo finally returned from her mission and began to get something to eat. She watched as the sun rose, gazing over the forest below and what she would be training today. A part of her wanted to use the full extent of her abilities in the open; sometimes she couldn't stop that feeling of defiance that rose within her—she shouldn't have to hide her power from anyone! She lived in the place she worked, her only friends merely colleagues, either giving her orders as her boss or acting as backup and nodding as they passed each other. No matter how much time she spent in the estate and doing missions, this place couldn't hide everything from Kyo, and she often pondered the idea of the outside world. Her world revolved around fighting and violence, but she couldn't stop the longing for some form of peace in her life—though it didn't seem as if it would be coming any time soon as her boss entered the room, and turning to face him, she bowed in greeting.

After listening to his debriefing, Kyo had nodded and agreed with his words, gathering her belongings and heading out through the gates just like before. She ran for a few minutes to make sure she was out of range of the estate before Kyo finally felt she could stop, and she walked to the place where she always trained: the banks of the nearby river with a clearing next to it. It was peaceful, out of the way and had a lot of space in which to use her abilities, and after stumbling across it while trying to find a place to get away, Kyo had continued to use it as her training grounds. Breathing in the fresh air deeply, she stepped forward, willing her chakra into life, before beginning her warm up.

She fell into the rhythm of her exercises, and her surroundings slipped from her mind as the techniques she had felt she would never be able to use abruptly unraveled themselves in her head. Suddenly she felt at one with this new power, and her thoughts drifted while she went on training. Just like before, Kyo forgot about everything as she lost herself in the movements, contemplating so much about her life—about where it was headed. She knew she was powerful, and more so than anyone she worked for or worked with. There were several places she would be able to work well in; but it wasn't merely a case of picking one and wandering off. There was so much to consider, and Kyo often wondered where exactly she could fit in, in life. Parts of her personality just didn't seem to match, and she hadn't been given enough time to truly understand which part was really her. There was more to her than the life she had been given…but Kyo didn't know what she could do to change it.

As a moment of silence appeared in Kyo's thoughts, she froze as she abruptly realised there were other people around; and that she was a little too late in her actions. Spinning round to face them, they stared at her in shock and wonder, and as her abilities were activated right now, Kyo knew they understood just what they were. She was too taken back at what was happening to react in time, and soon felt a stab of pain in her neck as a pressure point was hit, her vision going black a second later.

Maybe changing her life wouldn't be such a struggle after all…


	2. Chapter 2

Pein watched the sun start to set out of his window, lost in his thoughts.

They weren't anything special; nothing particularly exciting had gone on that day, and he'd gone on with his routine as normal, handing out missions and keeping everyone in check as much as he could. Things had been relatively calm in general over the past few days, and Pein couldn't help but repeat that idea in his head, rolling his shoulders and closing his eyes for a moment as he exhaled slowly, feeling himself relax slightly. It wasn't something he did often, and in a sense, it felt wrong. As a ninja, he had to keep on guard constantly, and even more so as a missing nin and leader of the Akatsuki. But there was nothing happening currently, and his mind felt like it was on overdrive—something had to give.

What he was concentrating on so badly, Pein wasn't sure, but something felt different. He felt as if he _should_ be expecting something to occur; that something would pop out of the shadows any minute now or attack him from a hiding place. However, Pein knew that idea was ridiculous, and therefore shook it off, opening his eyes again to look back across the sky and the brilliant rays of golden light the sun sprayed over it, like paint on a canvas. Though that feeling remained niggling at the back of his mind. Maybe it wouldn't be something as obvious as that; but something was coming, whether big or small. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Pein sighed imperceptibly in irritation—he didn't like it. He didn't feel right, and he couldn't let anything affect how things were turning out.

None of the others had been acting differently today, and Konan had mentioned nothing or shown no signs of anything when Pein had spoken to her. Whatever was going on seemed to be concerning him alone—something else Pein wasn't particularly fond of. He flexed his fingers, contemplating the idea of going for a walk; anything that would take his mind off the strange feeling inside his head. If this _was_ a supposed omen, then Pein wished it would just hurry up. If something _was_ going to happen, then it could at least happen—

"Leader-sama!"

Snapping back to reality, Pein turned to face the door instantly as he heard the banging and the voice calling out to him, quickly stating a word of assent for them to come in. Immediately a subordinate entered, looking slightly nervous but determined all the same, and bowing in respect and greeting, he began swiftly,

"Leader-sama…we've got something you should see."

It had been early evening by the time Kyo had woken up, the suns rays streaming across her face as she groggily came round. Shaking off her drowsiness, Kyo had instantly fallen into a defensive stance, knowing her arms were tied behind her back but not needing them free to be able to fight back and break away. Her opinion had only changed when she had finally gotten a good look around her; the subordinates must have been carrying her all day, as a building had abruptly loomed ahead in the distance, and Kyo hadn't recognize the forest around her. Wherever they had taken her, she didn't know, and better yet, she didn't know _who_ was involved. They had taken her to see someone, that was evident, but there had been no hint as to who that person was. Kyo couldn't think of any reason why they might want her, the idea that it was because of her boss somehow seemed strange. There would most likely be more people inside, though, and as they got closer to the building, Kyo knew there was no point in running—they would only find her and drag her back.

Seeing she had woken up, the subordinates had simply pulled her forward and forced her to walk now that she was able, and with a slight glare in their direction, Kyo had complied. What else would she have been able to do in the situation? So instead she merely remained quiet, taking in her surroundings as she was taken inside the building and walked along the corridors. It was plain, and practically empty; it contained necessities, and that was about it from the looks of things. Just how many people lived there was unknown, and Kyo felt her muscles automatically tense up the further she went into this place. Even the subordinates themselves didn't seem fully comfortable with where they were, and it did nothing to relax Kyo—especially as they passed an open doorway a moment later, revealing the people inside. It was the cloaks that caught her attention; the red clouds on a black background.

"Akatsuki," Kyo whispered, her eyes lingering on them before she was pushed onwards.

The subordinates had hesitated when she had looked round at them; upon seeing her abilities. Was that why she had been brought here? Because of what she could do? But what would the Akatsuki want with her? Kyo couldn't answer any of these questions, and clenched her fists to help herself remain calm as a door appeared at the very end of the corridor, right at the back of the building. No doubt this was where their leader was; something that was proven as she was pulled to a halt, a subordinate stepping forward and banging on the door, calling out to whoever was inside.

"Something I should see? What?" Pein instantly responded, narrowing his eyes at this sudden interruption and unusual circumstances. Knowing Pein didn't have a clue as to what was going on, the subordinate quickly replied,

"We saw her training, Leader-sama. We thought she was powerful to begin with, but—"

"Bring her in, then. Where is she?" Pein cut him off, gesturing for her to be brought forward. He needed to sort things out as quickly as possible; that feeling that something was different—that something was coming—had not fully faded from his mind, and Pein wanted to make sure everything was as it should be. He didn't need to hear anymore, after all—he'd find out soon enough what they wanted him to see when she was brought in.

So pulling her forward, they swiftly led Kyo through the door and stood her a few paces into the room. Pein immediately turned around as he heard the room fall silent, hesitating as he saw Kyo standing there. Her head was bowed, not meeting his gaze as she stood there—but Pein could see it wasn't from fear. It was more like respect she was showing him, and narrowing his eyes Pein could find nothing to say for the moment. Her silver hair couldn't completely hide her face; couldn't hide her beauty, and she held herself with perfect posture, not about to shy away from anything but still willing to hold back when the need arose. Pein had never met or even seen anyone quite like Kyo, and forced himself to look away; to break the trance she had placed upon him as he turned to the subordinates and stated bluntly,

"Leave. You've done all that was needed."

Nodding quickly, the subordinates didn't pause, instantly turning and leaving the room, shutting the door quietly behind them. This only reinforced Kyo's impression of Pein; though he didn't seem unfair or cruel in anyway, he was still not a man to be messed with. What her life had to do with the Akatsuki was a question that still plagued her; but she felt it best that she stay silent while he looked her over, wondering what he was thinking. He gave off an atmosphere of authority, it was true; but there was something else that added onto this image, though she couldn't quite tell what it was. Forcing her heartbeat to stay at its normal rate as Kyo felt Pein's gaze on her once more, she said nothing as Pein finally began, getting straight to the point,

"What is it they're so interested in?"

"Well—"

"Look at me," Pein instantly interrupted, and to begin with, Kyo paused. She knew it was an order—but her concerns about how the subordinates had reacted upon seeing her were still in her mind, and she was uncertain how Pein would react in the same situation. But Pein instantly picked up on this, and narrowing his eyes at her as she didn't lift her head, he took a step forward, and repeated, more firmly this time,

"I said. Look. At me."

Now, however, and Kyo knew there was no way out of this, and sighing inwardly, she slowly lifted her face to his, watching as he blinked in surprise at what he saw.

After all, seeing the Rinnegan staring back at him was the last thing he'd been expecting.


	3. Chapter 3

Kyo couldn't look away. His eyes were so intense, constantly apathetic and hiding what lay within; but she could see there was something behind it all—something he hid from everyone around him. There was a lot more to Pein than most people considered, and Kyo felt an immediate connection. She had never met anyone like him in her life, and all the rumours and stories Kyo had heard about him she could instantly believe him to have done; he had that kind of power. His piercings were unusual, true; but somehow they merely accentuated his features and gave him a quality that separated him from the likes of most men—they made him special. His voice; his eyes, his piercings all made her curious, and she couldn't help but want to know more, even in the current situation.

Something that was only reflected in Pein.

He had been interested in Kyo from the beginning, even without knowing she had the Rinnegan, but now his curiosity had been taken to a whole new level. He had never heard of anyone else but him possessing the Rinnegan. It was a kekkai genkai, after all, so she had to have gotten it from somewhere. But how? She clearly hadn't flaunted it in order for the subordinates to have found out; they had been the ones to find her. Pein could sense she was powerful, yet she didn't try and show off, almost appearing shy as he looked at her now. But it wasn't a true shyness; she held her head up and met his gaze full on, even if she had been reluctant to look him in the eye at first. Kyo might have been uncertain in what was going on, but she wasn't one to back down. Where had she come from? Who _was_ she? All these questions began to surface in Pein's mind until he forced himself to ask bluntly,

"How do you possess the Rinnegan? What did you do to get it?"

"I don't know. It—it's hard to explain, sir." Kyo attempted to respond, trying to come up with the words that would explain the situation but not everything about her; or would at least sound respectful. But try as she might, nothing seemed to come to mind, and Pein persisted in his interrogation, questioning again and again about several different things. Now that Kyo had entered and he had met her, he couldn't just let her go—not now he knew she had the Rinnegan. He never took his eyes off of her; stepping forward as he spoke, determined to get the information out of her.

It was only after a few minutes that Pein paused and began to consider the idea that Kyo wasn't lying; that she was actually telling the truth. She'd been nothing but respectful while she had been here, and had done nothing to fight back. He had developed the Rinnegan naturally through his bloodline, and therefore understood it well. But Kyo seemed…uncomfortable with it; as if she wasn't quite used to having it there. She was being honest—she had to be—and so Pein fell silent, thinking over the situation, wondering what exactly he was going to do now. He knew he wasn't about to let her walk out of the hideout as if nothing had happened; she knew of the hideout, the members of the Akatsuki and who _he_ was. He didn't know who she worked for; there was no telling what she might do when she left—and not to mention she was powerful. If she got out…maybe it would be better if he just killed her now. There were too many threats to the Akatsuki to add another one to the pile.

"May I say something, sir?"

Flicking his gaze up to Kyo's, Pein immediately paused at her words; at her asking for his permission to speak. It cut straight through his contemplation of killing her, abruptly intrigued at what she might have to say, and nodding, he gestured for Kyo to continue, prompting her to go on,

"I didn't purposefully _choose_ to own the Rinnegan; I swear. And I wasn't trying to—and never would try—to disrespect you by using it in the wrong way, sir. I wish I could get rid of it; and I know you have every right to kill me—I'm not about to contest that. I know there is nothing I can say that will change that fact."

But with that, Pein had no idea how to respond. Uncertainty seemed to overwhelm him with every action she took or every word she spoke. At first glance Kyo appeared as timid and wary of those around her; keeping her head bowed and away from him and constantly calling him 'sir'. But the closer he looked the more Pein saw it wasn't like that. Her expression was apathetic, with no emotions clouding her eyes or face. She was firm and certain in the way she acted, confident in what she could do but in no way arrogant. She knew things and understood things that a lot of people didn't—Pein could see it in her eyes. He felt a strange connection forming as he got caught in Kyo's gaze, and he couldn't figure out what to do. He couldn't figure out what to think of her in the first place. The subordinates had said she was powerful even without the Rinnegan, and Pein didn't doubt that, even though her beauty offset that. She had been nothing but obedient and respectful towards him, and suddenly Pein felt something he hadn't felt in a long time:

Empathy.

Something about Kyo drew him in like a moth to a flame, and he felt as if he could understand what she was going through. Strange thoughts began to form in the back of his mind as Pein continued to analyse her—but forcing himself to look away for a moment, he made himself concentrate on the idea that it would be a waste to kill her with the power she held. The rest of his thoughts he pushed away, homing in on that one thought, and combining that with the information she now knew about the Akatsuki, and Pein had made his decision; glancing up at her to state simply,

"You're staying here."

Instantly returning her eyes to his, Kyo stared at Pein in shock and confusion, having not been expecting that in the slightest. She had meant what she had said; and having figured out that it _was_ because of her Rinnegan that she had been brought here, Kyo had accepted her fate. The Rinnegan was a kekkai genkai that was extremely rare in the world, and considering she was a mere stranger who had turned up out of nowhere and was working for another group of ninjas, Kyo hadn't found the idea of Pein wanting to kill her strange—he had every reason to. He couldn't risk her power being used against him, and there was the question as to how it had come about, too. So Kyo hadn't been about to protest to her death, knowing that it was inevitable. To have Pein abruptly turn round and say that she was to be staying there with the Akatsuki and in the hideout…she didn't know how to respond. Nothing was going how she had planned it, everything having been turned on its head in a merely a few minutes—then remembering her situation, Kyo began to speak up, protesting quietly,

"But I work—"

"No. You _will_ stay here from now on, regardless of who you might have been working for before this; I don't care. You accepted the fact that I might have been going to kill you—so accept this," Pein merely shot back, to which Kyo responded with a simple nod in return, strangely unaffected about this new information. Sadness at how things had changed never crossed her mind, and Kyo found herself facing this new challenge head on.

She had heard of the Akatsuki, after all, with what all the members had done in their lifetimes and the consequences of their actions. She admired them as a group and as individuals; in a way, this experience almost excited her. Though a shadow of concern passed through her thoughts as to how the others would react—whether in the Akatsuki or in her old group—it soon dissipated, and Kyo could concentrate on nothing but what would be happening next. How little time it had been since she had been training with the Rinnegan, wondering what changes could be made to her life to give her what she wanted and felt she deserved.

Who would have known it would be handed to her on a platter?


	4. Chapter 4

In the moment Kyo remained in her thoughts, Pein had contacted Konan, who arrived within a few minutes at the door. But right away Konan had known there was something big going on; Pein hadn't been specific with the reason as to why he wanted her there, and there seemed to be something bothering him—which is why she had quickened her pace to meet him. But even she hadn't been expecting Kyo to be standing there when she entered the room, facing Pein calmly and silently, no sign of fear or worry on her face. Obviously she hadn't done anything wrong, then—so why was she here? Konan couldn't help but automatically think that she was different; she could sense the power coming off of her, and Konan doubted Kyo was a subordinate. So what was going on?

Though she guessed she was about to find out a moment later when Pein began to speak.

"Konan; she'll be staying here from now on. Get her a room and tell her what she needs to know—I'll tell the rest of them," he stated bluntly, gesturing towards Kyo and revealing no trace of emotion on his face.

Konan had known Pein for years now, ever since she was a child, and could generally tell what he was feeling without any emotions showing on the surface. But at this point, she couldn't figure him out, and the idea that he was forcibly hiding his emotions made her confusion and curiosity grow—Kyo had clearly left an impact on him. But knowing she wouldn't be able to get anything out of him, Konan simply nodded, agreeing with his decision, and turned to Kyo, who had now looked up, seeing her bow respectfully in her direction. Immediately Konan took a liking to her; she was polite, but carried that same mysterious and powerful aura that Pein did. Nodding in return, Konan gestured for her to come over, and obeying swiftly, Kyo stood by her side and followed as Konan opened the door and stepped through the threshold. It was only then that Pein abruptly spoke up once more, staring at Kyo with an intense look in his eyes when she turned to look at him as he stated firmly,

"You don't work here, alright? Don't start thinking that you do. I have my own reasons for keeping you here, and you will do as you are told; that is it."

Slightly bewildered at his sudden change in attitude, Kyo did nothing to object to his words, understanding her situation and whether she was a threat. As such, she quickly nodded, bowing swiftly afterwards in response, saying softly as she did so,

"Of course, sir. As you wish. I'm sorry for causing you all this trouble."

But once again a wave of empathy washed through Pein as she spoke, and it froze him to the spot, leaving him unable to say a word. Kyo had the Rinnegan, along with numerous other abilities that made her a powerful opponent. Yet even with all that power—even with the way she held herself and her general attitude as a ninja—she was still so obliging. There had never been a single word of protestation from her lips when he had said all that to her; she had merely gone along with it all and accepted what would happen—even more so when he had said that she would do as she was told. The thought that she shouldn't be like that with the way she was flickered into Pein's mind at that point, and gritting his teeth at that fact, he swiftly nodded and dodged past them both, heading down the corridor to the lounge and leaving them behind.

After all, he couldn't think of anything else to do.

Both Konan and Kyo knew something wasn't quite right with the way Pein was acting, but also knowing there weren't about to be any answers any time soon, Konan simply closed the door and led Kyo off down the corridor towards the nearest room, introducing herself as she did so. Then she explained the details about the Akatsuki; the kind of missions they did, how they worked in partnerships and the places they travelled to. She added the names of the other Akatsuki and what they were like as they walked, wanting to make it a little easier for her to integrate into the organization. It had to be hard suddenly being placed into the Akatsuki without Pein having given a true reason, and not knowing what would happen next—so at least Kyo could prepare herself if she knew in advance. Konan just hadn't been expecting her to frown in confusion at her words, questioning in bewilderment,

"I can mix with them?"

"You'll most likely be able to, yes…why?" Konan quickly responded, almost concerned at how Kyo was reacting—a concern that didn't fade as Kyo replied casually,

"I was just never really allowed to do so where I used to work."

To begin with Konan paused, wondering what exactly had happened to Kyo in her life in order for her to be this way. There was a lot of mystery to her, and a lot of things didn't seem to add up; in a way, Konan felt sorry for her. But brushing that aside for the moment, they finally arrived at Kyo's new room, Konan opening the door and showing her inside, pointing out the main features. Nodding in acceptance of the room, not needing anything but the basics in the first place, Kyo smirked slightly and looked back at Konan, bowing once again and saying,

"Thank you ma'am."

"There's no need to call me that; my name's Konan, like I said. And you don't need to bow, either." Konan swiftly protested to Kyo's actions, her instinctive concern for her returning, and nodding at that fact, Kyo straightened up again, trying again this time with,

"Thank you Konan-sama."

Smiling slightly in return to Kyo's thanks, Konan began to turn and leave the room, allowing Kyo to get used to everything and get some rest, when she abruptly called her back, and glancing over her shoulder to look at Kyo, Konan hesitated as Kyo asked uncertainly,

"Is there anything I should know about Leader-danna? To…make him calmer with me?"

At first, Konan could find nothing to say in return, not quite knowing how Pein was reacting to Kyo in the first place. But eventually she merely shook her head in response to her question, answering as best she could,

"He's not angry at you—he just doesn't know what to do with you."

With that, Konan turned and left the room, closing the door softly behind her. She didn't like leaving Kyo like that, without much of an answer to help her—she couldn't help but like Kyo. But she had been telling the truth, after all. Pein himself was uncertain and still thinking things through. Until Pein knew what was going on, Konan wouldn't be able to answer any of Kyo's questions—though somehow she felt that Pein wouldn't give anything away. How was he supposed to, when he didn't even understand it himself?

No matter how much he tried to move onwards, to continue on with things as normal, Kyo's actions and words kept popping up into his mind and he couldn't get rid of them. He was curious about her; about why, even with all her power, she was so obedient, and why she remained emotionless, strong and confident in herself throughout all of her outward impressions she gave off. But at the same time Pein was enthralled with this information, drawn in by the mystery of Kyo's life. Did he feel connected to her in someway to make him react like this? Then realizing what he was doing, Pein shook it off. Regardless of why all this was happening, he _had_ ordered that she stay here. And he still had to figure out what he was going to do with her.

Kyo, too, was trying to come up with a response to that, however. Having had her wrists untied, she rubbed them gently to get the circulation going, padding slowly around her room as she fully took in all the details, contemplating how her life would continue from here. Everything had happened so fast, and even now she was left alone to piece together her thoughts, it hadn't made things any easier. Glancing out the window Kyo took in the calm surroundings of the forest, knowing she wasn't fully sure of her position, and in which direction her old home had been. For the moment, at least, even the consideration of escape was stupid, and as such Kyo merely walked over to the bed, taking a seat and resting her elbows on her knees.

Not that she was even sure she _wanted_ to escape. She couldn't deny a part of her had been excited when she had first heard what Pein was doing. It wasn't as if she had been treated horribly while she had been here; if anything, they had been nice—though she couldn't quite understand Pein's opinion towards her. His reaction had been so unusual and contradictory that Kyo didn't know what she should expect next. When it came down to it, he hadn't told her a full reason for deciding to keep her alive, and Kyo automatically wondered why he had done so. The Akatsuki had enough trouble as it was from the ninja villages, let alone adding on a possible threat from her—so why this conclusion? And how would things go from here?

Immediately her mind drifted to that, and found she couldn't remain sitting any longer, walking to the window and watching the world unfold outside. The other Akatsuki now knew that she was staying here—Pein had told them that himself. But he had also stated that she wasn't working here; so what would Kyo be doing? Would she do missions, or would she be locked up in her room like a prisoner? Kyo closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm and think things through rationally. He had chosen to keep her alive, and it had been after he had discovered she possessed the Rinnegan that he had made this decision. Whatever the reason was for keeping Kyo there, it was to do with the Rinnegan; but not to get rid of it. There was something else he was going to do, and Kyo opened her eyes with this thought, sighing softly. Whether the Rinnegan was a gift or a curse was something she would have to consider later—once she knew how Pein was going to react to it.

But for now she did the only things she could do—

She went to her bed and slept, her dreams troubled about what the next day would hold.


	5. Chapter 5

/Being used to waking up early, Kyo was awake as the sun's rays spread over her chest and face. She had slept on and off, not exactly nervous at her situation but still naturally reacting to the idea of being in an unfamiliar place and the uncertainty this new day was bringing. After waiting for a few minutes, she had soon simply given up, getting up to re-make the bed and enter the bathroom, splashing her face with water to jolt herself out of her zombie-like trance, before readying herself for the day. She could at least attempt to be prepared for whatever Pein would be throwing at her, and meditated a little to keep herself calm. A part of her was strangely angry at Pein for keeping her in the dark like this, but she wasn't stupid enough to think that anger would get her anywhere. The only way to deal with it all was to keep a clear head, and she sank further into a meditative state in order to do so.

A couple of hours later and Kyo felt her stomach grumble once more, causing her to open her eyes and place a hand on her stomach, glancing to the door. She hadn't each much yesterday to begin with, and now, having not had breakfast; her hunger was starting to get to her. But there were several things to take into consideration before she could even think of leaving her room, and all of them pointed to her staying where she was. First off, the main order she had been given was to do as she was told and pretty much follow the rules. Konan had suggested Kyo might be able to mix with the rest of the Akatsuki, but she couldn't know for sure. For all she knew food would be coming to her; or someone would at least arrive and tell her what to do. The question as to whether Kyo was allowed out of her room or not wasn't one that she wanted to answer through trial and experiment.

She wouldn't even know where the kitchen was to try and sneak in there in the first place.

As such she tried to dismiss it for the moment, closing her eyes once more and returning to meditation, gritting her teeth as she felt her stomach rumble again. No matter how many hunger pangs ran through her body, she couldn't give in and just wander around. That had been out of bounds in her _old_ work place, let along doing it here with all that had happened! Kyo would just have to force herself to stay where she was; and tried once more to return into meditation.

Another half an hour passed in this way, and it was only then that things started to change. Everyone else in the Akatsuki had gotten up as normal, and after their usual morning routines had gone to the kitchen to grab something to eat—the only difference being they couldn't help but keep an eye out for Kyo. Now Pein had told them there was somebody else joining their little group, it was natural for them to become curious about her, and ultimately meant they were slower in what they were doing, waiting for the moment when she would arrive. Only as they sat there…no one ever turned up. At first the idea that Pein had taken her off somewhere to talk to her seemed possible, but then time continued ticking by, and there was no way he could have been talking to her _that_ long. All in all, things were getting to be suspicious, confusion evident in everyone as they tried to figure out where exactly Kyo was—Itachi included.

Having finished his breakfast quite a while ago, he eventually got up and left the room without a word, walking down the corridor to the room where he knew Kyo had slept. Although he didn't know anything about what her purpose was in the Akatsuki, he felt that somebody had to make the first contact, and as such knocked softly on the door, entering a moment afterwards. Kyo was sitting on the bed, in the same position she had been in all morning, as Itachi came in, quickly standing and bowing as he greeted her. Though she didn't know who the Akatsuki where when it came down to looks, it was obvious who Itachi was; the Sharingan kinda gave it away—in the same way Itachi understood a lot more as he stared back into the Rinnegan. But as such, Kyo merely remained silent, unsure as to why he was here, as Itachi began simply,

"I was wondering if you wanted something to eat; you haven't come out of your room this morning."

But even he was taken back as Kyo glanced up into his eyes with a slight look of surprise and confusion to respond bluntly,

"I didn't know I could."

Immediately he felt a slight wave of empathy pass through him. He could tell Kyo was powerful from where he was standing now; the way she looked at him, the way she held herself…and yet she seemed to follow everyone's orders. But shaking it off, he pointed out she could, in fact, leave her room, and offered to show her the way, introducing himself in the mean time. When Kyo bowed once more at his name, he quickly halted her, stating there was no need to, and merely led her towards the door and out into the corridor, stating a few things as they walked. Kyo had heard of Itachi from the many rumours surrounding him, but was strangely surprised by what she saw now. What surprised her the most, however, was the freedom she was being given here, even with what Pein had said to her the night before. Where this was all leading to, she couldn't tell, simply following on after Itachi and making sure to memorise the way while she did. Then, when Itachi turned and began to head into another room, Kyo braced herself, gathering the rest of the Akatsuki would be waiting when she went in.

A theory that was proved right when she went through the door, all eyes swiveling to face her as she appeared, immediately gathering why Pein had been so adamant that she stay when they saw her eyes. She allowed them to analyse her, making their first impressions, and swiftly flicked her gaze over them in turn, doing the same. At first she said nothing, not shy under all this attention but from uncertainty at whether there were any rules she was supposed to abide. But when no one said a word, simply watching her expectantly, she glanced over to Itachi, seeing him nod once in encouragement, and gathered what she was supposed to do, turning back to the group to state clearly into the silence,

"My name is Kyosei Yuryoku, though most people call me Kyo. It's good to finally meet you all."

Sensing now that she wasn't frightened in the slightest, merely stoic in her ways, the others instantly began to step forward, introducing themselves and giving Kyo a chance to get to know them as Itachi showed her where all the food was. She spoke to them all a bit as she sat down and finally ate, discovering more about their personalities from what Konan had told her when she'd showed her to her room. But in turn, the Akatsuki tried to learn more about Kyo. After all, she had turned up as if from nowhere, Pein simply walking in, telling them that she would be staying with them, before walking back out and saying nothing more. Right away there had been intrigue, and some still remained, even while they were talking.

It was clear why Pein had an interest in Kyo, however. Having the Rinnegan in itself was unusual, and no doubt Pein wanted to know why—not to mention not wanting to lose that kind of power. But there was still something different about her; a power that wasn't just to do with the Rinnegan but something so much more. She carried that same manner to her as Pein did; mysterious, aloof and authoritative, though at the same time acting submissive, a combination which bewildered the majority of the Akatsuki. As they spoke, they saw Kyo could analyse things really easily—even the likes of somebody's personality—something which was proven as, when Hidan and Kakuzu began to get aggressive, she turned and spoke quietly to them both, only for the anger to have dissipated a second later. She was an interesting addition to the Akatsuki, they'd give her that; and the impression she'd left on Pein was admirable, too. But Kyo gave the impression that although they could spend all their time getting closer to her and finding out more about her, just like Pein…they would never truly know.

Though that didn't mean to say Pein wasn't about to try…


	6. Chapter 6

Pein, too, hadn't slept as much as he could have done last night.

For so long he had sat there, wondering simply; where do I go from here? He had been about to kill Kyo, but now he had chosen to _keep_ her—and for a reason he wasn't entirely sure he could pin point. Not only that, but he had specifically told Kyo that she wouldn't be working there. Glaring slightly out the window as he remembered those words, Pein put on his cloak roughly, without a clue as to why he had said that. If Kyo wasn't going to be working here, what _was_ she going to do? He'd only backed himself into a corner. And yet somehow the fact he had gotten himself into this mess wasn't a surprise in itself. Kyo affected him in a way Pein didn't understand—he should have known this was how it would turn out. Though shaking it off, he knew he was going to have to come up with an answer to that question at some point, and as such decided to speak with her again. Maybe by finding out a bit more things would become clearer.

So finally ready, Pein left his room and down the corridor, having already gotten something to eat a while beforehand. Considering the time, he doubted Kyo would still be in her room, so passed that completely and went straight towards the kitchen, not giving himself the time to hesitate as he passed through the doorway and into the room, spotting Kyo's hair immediately. She was sitting eating her food, the others doing their own thing, but still twisted slightly so that Kyo was always in their sight. She was new, a woman, and beautiful…obviously they were going to be curious. But brushing that fact aside for the moment, concentrating on Kyo, Pein came forward until everyone looked up, nodding in greeting to her as he said swiftly,

"I'll need to talk to you, so you will have to come to my office when you're ready."

With that, he turned and left, trying to plan what questions he would ask her when she arrived as he walked down the corridor, not noticing Kyo instantly dropping her things, standing up and following him, the rest of the Akatsuki watching in confusion. She'd been in the middle of breakfast when Pein had said that, and had simply walked out without even trying to finish it. Frowning in confusion and concern, Itachi's gaze—along with the others—observed Kyo as she left, but let it be for the moment, none of them knowing exactly what they could do to change things. She might be powerful, sharing similar traits with the likes of Pein and Itachi…but there was definitely something that wasn't quite right.

Having heard no footsteps, Pein snapped his gaze round as something appeared in the corner of his vision, finding Kyo walking calmly beside him. Narrowing his eyes, he said nothing for a moment; he'd seen she was eating breakfast, and it was why he had said she could come to his office when she was ready. Yet suddenly she was here, and a little surprised at that fact, he stated quietly in confusion,

"I wasn't expecting you to come right away—you were eating."

"You asked me to come, sir…so here I am," Kyo shot back swiftly, and Pein had to force himself to keep a straight face at her words. There might be a lot he didn't understand about Kyo…but he knew they shared similar traits, and somehow felt they shared similar convictions, too. Quite how he knew was a mystery—but Pein was certain he felt connected to her, and that she was someone he could understand.

Finally arriving at his office, Pein swiftly dismissed that thought and opened the door, allowing them both inside before closing it firmly behind them. Walking over to the table, he sat down, making sure to tell Kyo to do the same when he noticed she remained standing, waiting for him to react. But her actions made him both empathic and uncomfortable regardless of how many times he saw them; not feeling it was necessary to do any of what she was doing, though still uncertain what to do about it. It was like Kyo wouldn't allow herself to be who she truly was until someone spoke to her; that without something to react off of…she would treat herself as if she didn't exist and would merely blend into the background. There was so much about her that put her apart from the crowd; that made her special—but Kyo didn't seem to want any of it, and Pein felt compelled to know more.

Unsure where to start when all that was flicking through Pein's mind was her hesitation, obedience and silence, he eventually managed to pick out the most obvious thing: the fact she possessed the Rinnegan. It was why she was here, after all, so it made sense to begin with that. Glancing up to Kyo's gaze, she simply waited expectantly for whatever Pein wanted to speak to her about, a slight anxiety rising within her. It wasn't a frightful anxiety, but instead almost excitement. When she had been alone with Pein yesterday, she had been uncertain and worried about what was going to happen, but now she knew more, and felt closer to Pein and much calmer in his presence. As such, Kyo barely blinked as she watched Pein, until eventually he asked simply, getting straight to the point,

"The Rinnegan is a kekkai genkai, as you already know—so you must have inherited it from someone. What about your parents? Could you have got it from them?"

"I wouldn't know; my parents died when I was young," Kyo responded casually, not showing any change in emotion as she did so. Her parents had died a long time ago, and it no longer affected her; there was no need to get upset about it when it was merely a fact of her life, even if she wished it was otherwise. Pein said nothing in return to begin with, picking out the fact that that was another thing they shared; Kyo, too, understood the pain of losing her parents when she was young. His distanced demeanour began to slip, not noticing himself relaxing in her presence as he replied,

"Did you grow up on your own then?"

"In a way, yes, but I was actually taken in by a group of ninjas when they saw what I could do…and I'd been with them ever since until now."

Pein narrowed his eyes, everything about Kyo's story confusing him. So much of it didn't make sense, and as such he protested out loud,

"But how come I've never noticed; if you were taken in by a group of ninjas for your abilities, then surely they would have wanted you to use your Rinnegan to its highest potential…and yet I never heard any rumours about there being someone else with it."

"But that's the thing, sir…it's only been recently that it turned up in the first place—a couple of weeks at the most."

"What? So you never even knew you _had_ the Rinnegan until now?" Pein shot back in surprise, his confusion only growing.

It just didn't make sense. Her abilities had to be powerful in the first place—the reason why those ninjas had recruited her at such a young age. But because of that, she must have been high level when she was young as well, and therefore being sent on missions and doing a lot of difficult tasks. It was at that point that things didn't quite add up; if she had been in so many different life or death situations, then her Rinnegan should have awakened by now; her chakra should have brought it to the surface. So why hadn't it done so until she was in her twenties? Had there been something blocking it? And better yet, did the ninjas she had been working for know about it? True, she might not have been able to use it before, but had they known it would turn up eventually? Pein wasn't sure, and instead focused on what else she could do—with or without the Rinnegan.

His expectations, however, were instantly met as Kyo began to describe the kind of abilities she had. Pein found himself falling silent and listening intently to all that she said, Kyo revealing powers that he had never even imagined possible. His earlier statement that Kyo couldn't think she was working here seemed even more ridiculous. With those kind of abilities Pein couldn't just dismiss them; they deserved to be used and used to their full potential. The Akatsuki could always do with that kind of power, anyway. Kyo fell utterly into conversation with him, no hesitation rising within her mind and telling any of this. With him…she felt comfortable, and as if she had nothing to hide. She felt like _herself_.

Her old life was slipping away a lot quicker than Kyo had ever expected.


	7. Chapter 7

When the knock sounded out from the door both Pein and Kyo snapped their gazes round to face it, having been so engrossed in conversation everything else had slipped away.

Realizing just how focused they had been on each other, Kyo glanced away as Pein shifted in his seat and tried to brush it off, calling out assent for their visitor to enter the room. Itachi appeared the second afterwards, entering silently and nodding in greeting at both Pein and Kyo, before revealing the reason that he had come to see Pein: Zetsu had left on his mission. Though it wasn't exactly massive news, both Pein and Kyo couldn't help but be slightly glad of it, knowing neither of them should have been like they were. Their situations just didn't match, and they had forgotten themselves. Kyo didn't know what Zetsu was doing, but with how everything was, she doubted she would be told, and for a moment there was silence as Pein took this knowledge in, eventually replying simply,

"Good; thank you, Itachi."

But he knew that his conversation with Kyo would now be over. The purpose of it had been to help Pein figure out just what he would do with Kyo now she was staying in the hideout with the Akatsuki. It wasn't about finding out about her as a person and discovering more about her personality—it couldn't be. He knew he was curious; the parts of her life that didn't add up were the parts Pein wanted to understand; but he couldn't let himself get any closer. He would just have to try and dismiss the times when Kyo would do something that affected him; standing instantly every time he asked her to come to talk to him and forgetting about whatever she had been doing before. Though suddenly he remembered what had occurred this morning, and abruptly it wouldn't leave his mind, prompting him to turn to Kyo and question automatically, softer than he had been before,

"Did you actually get anything to eat this morning?"

Blinking in surprise at his change in tone, much in the same way it had been when Kyo had spoken to him the first time, she glanced away and back again, never knowing what to do when he did this. She never experienced this kind of attitude towards her in the first place, whether when working or just in her free time, let alone with someone like Pein. But knowing he expected an answer, she faced him once more and replied dismissively, not wanting to lie but not exactly wanting to tell the truth either,

"I had some, sir, but…"

It was only with Kyo's reaction; the way she looked at him in confusion and glanced to Itachi for confirmation that Pein realised just what he'd been doing, and shaking it off he sat up straighter, responding bluntly,

"Then go and do so—you're dismissed."

That, however, Kyo _had_ been expecting, and as such she bowed her head slightly in respect and stood up, heading for the door, Itachi already starting to head down the corridor, having noticed Pein's reaction himself as he stood there. He could see they got on, even if neither of them were willing to bridge that gap, and merely brushed it aside, smirking inwardly at how they were both acting even with the authoritative nature they shared. Pein didn't take his eyes off of her as Kyo reached the doorway and stepped into the hallway, wondering whether he should call her back and try and explain himself or not—before he realised that he couldn't properly call her; he didn't even know her name, even after all this time. Standing swiftly, Pein took a step forward and called out a halt to her actions, causing Kyo to immediately stop and turn back round to question as to what it was he wanted, raising an eyebrow as he questioned quietly,

"Wait…I still don't know…what's your name?"

"Kyosei Yuryoku, sir—but most people just call me Kyo."

Nodding slowly at this information, taking it in slowly and feeling that it fit her perfectly, Pein relaxed in his stance and replied a lot more casual than before,

"Get something to eat, Kyo. You'll collapse otherwise."

At that, Kyo couldn't hold back the smirk that blossomed onto her face, and thanking him with a nod, she finally left the room, closing the door softly behind her and continuing down the hallway to finally finish her breakfast. Pein remained standing where he was for a moment as she did so, watching the space where Kyo had just stood and running over the conversation in his head before he eventually managed to get moving again.

But it was something he did repeatedly that day, unable to get their dialogue out of his mind. Both Pein and Kyo remained confused as they went about their day, not enjoying this uncertainty and confusion. Neither could understand why Pein's moods kept changing; one moment he would be perfectly fine and pretty nice to Kyo, when it came down to it, only to change to cold and aloof a second later. She didn't know it was because of something she was doing or something else entirely—but Pein didn't, either; he hadn't a clue why he kept acting like it. But it made the whole atmosphere on edge; Kyo felt as if she was treading on eggshells. How would she know how things were going to go tomorrow? Would Pein allow her to start doing missions for the Akatsuki—he'd started asking her about the Rinnegan, after all—or now that he knew more about her, would he just go back to his original plan and kill her right off? Kyo was willing to adapt to this new life and new situation…

But how was she supposed to adapt to a consistently changing mood?

Instead she tried to turn to other things; and ultimately ended up with Itachi. He was amicable to her and willing to answer her questions and help out if she needed it, and as such she spent most of her day with him, talking and just generally getting to know each other better. In all of this uncertainty it was good to have at least _one_ thing that was constant, and Itachi had a way of staying calm and stable throughout. He was easy to get along with, and polite and respectful in his ways, and sitting in the kitchen they simply talked, sometimes merely sitting in silence and enjoying each other's company.

They were still with each other when Pein passed by a few hours later, glancing in to see them chatting casually. For a moment he couldn't help but smirk at how Kyo was able to understand just about anyone and that she was comfortable staying in the hideout with the rest of the Akatsuki, when it slipped off as she abruptly smirked and glanced away at something Itachi had said. His emotions automatically changed and altered as he stood there, and nothing he could do would stop it. He had been the one to allow her to stay in the hideout—to invite her to his office and talk with her to understand her and her abilities better. Yet suddenly she spent a little time with Itachi and now they were sitting there giggling with each other? It wasn't right. His eyes narrowed as he continued to stare, clenching and unclenching his fists as it all built up. A minute later and his thoughts finally occurred to him, allowing Pein to snap out of his stupor—and realizing just what he was doing standing there, he took a deep breath and let it out, turning on his heel and walking straight back to his room. He needed to be alone.

Kyo didn't see him any more for the rest of the day, it passing in a very uneventful way until after grabbing something to eat for dinner, she retreated to her room to have some time alone to think. After all, regardless of how much time passed the problem would still be there. She didn't do anything special; simply lying on her bed with her eyes closed and allowing her mind to drift—at least, that was until a knock came from the door, and sitting up, she called for them to come in, nodding as Konan opened the door and stepped inside. Questioning as to what it was she wanted, Konan informed her,

"Pein wants you to come to his office in the morning tomorrow at the same time. But he says to 'make sure to eat something this time'?"

Immediately Kyo nodded in response, but an involuntary smirk spread across her face as she remembered all that had happened today, though she tried to smother it a moment later. Konan had noticed instantly, however, and gazing at Kyo in silence for a moment, she eventually replied thoughtfully,

"I don't know what you've said to him, but you've really confused him—you know that, Kyo?"

"What? I didn't mean to; should I say something?"

But Konan merely shook her head, turning and opening the door, saying over her shoulder as she left,

"No, Kyo; it's fine. You don't need to worry at all."

Nodding in goodbye, she now closed the door, pausing for a second outside to whisper to herself with a smirk,

"No; not at all."


	8. Chapter 8

A few days passed, and nothing much changed.

Kyo continued living there, acting as a member and fitting in with that general atmosphere but never actually doing any missions of any kind. She helped out when things needed to be done in the hideout, busying herself by almost becoming the maid—without getting paid, of course. If any of the members were hungry, Kyo would cook them something, and clean up if anything was messy. It gave her something to do, at least, occupying her while she went about her days in the hideout, only going for walks and going outside when there were a lot of people around to keep an eye on her. Not that Kyo was about to protest; she could understand where Pein was coming from—he couldn't risk the safety of the hideout or the people within it.

And then, of course, there was Pein himself. His moods were still all over the place, treating Kyo with kindness and looking out for her welfare one minute, and then simply telling her to do something or reminding her of a rule the next. In a way, the constant changing became stable in itself, and Kyo merely came to expect it, accepting the fact that she could never truly be prepared for all of what Pein could say or do to her. Pein knew it, too, but he couldn't help it. It was an automatic reaction to treat her differently and relax in her presence; somehow she just made him feel like he didn't need to keep up any standards—that he could be himself and that she would understand regardless of what he said. But she had come out of nowhere after having subordinates find out that she possessed the Rinnegan; an ability Kyo didn't know the origin of, either! He had been planning on killing her; he couldn't treat her any different to the rest of the Akatsuki.

That didn't stop him from doing it, however.

Kyo began to see Pein on a regular basis, finding out more about her general abilities and what she'd been able to do as a ninja before the Rinnegan had come along, and then how she had adapted to having it now. If she had known about it for two weeks, and she had had it activated when the subordinates had found her training, then obviously she had been practicing with it. Pein wanted to know just what she had been training with in terms of the various techniques made available with the Rinnegan and how far along Kyo was in getting it completely under control. He knew himself what it could do when unleashed through emotion, and he couldn't risk it happening with Kyo.

But he needn't have worried. When they spoke about it and she fully explained, Pein had to smother a smirk at her words. He had to admit; he was impressed with all that she had done in such a short space of time. Kyo had researched so much into the Rinnegan and made sure that she remained in control of the power at all times. It was clear at that moment just how talented a ninja she was—but whether this was a hereditary thing, Pein was still unsure about. There remained things that made him curious, but Kyo had said before she was an orphan, and talking about _his_ past wasn't something he ever liked to do—and no doubt Kyo felt the same. Her job was another topic that he tried to tread around carefully, as there was a lot of mystery surrounding it, and when it had come into conversation, Kyo never seemed particularly happy about it. No matter how hard he told himself he would treat her like any other Akatsuki member or _subordinate_ he was interviewing (or interrogating), Pein didn't want to offend her, and couldn't shake the feeling when he tried to ask.

He couldn't help but think about it again, however, when one day as Kyo got up and left as Konan came to talk to him, bowing in respect to both Pein and Konan, only to apologise to Konan when she remembered that Konan had told her she didn't have to. Once she left, Pein's eyes remained frozen for a moment, clouding over with thought when he finally turned and walked to the window, gazing down at the world outside—even more so when Kyo appeared and wandered through the trees to go for a walk. Konan said nothing as he did so, knowing he was deep in thought—after all, he didn't get like this normally—until eventually he spoke up, quietly but firmly, to say,

"I don't know what happened in her past to make her act this way. Always so willing to obey…always so respectful regardless of who that person is in her life…What did her old employers do to her?"

"Sometimes I wonder that myself," Konan replied quickly, knowing where he was coming from in this train of thought, continuing on afterwards,

"It just seems like there is a constant barrier between Kyo and those around her. There is no distinguishing feature that makes a person her superior, her teammate, her friend…because she treats them all with that same level of respect and obligation to obey. Bonds are unable to form…but in a way that is different to a lot of shinobi out there."

Pein slowly nodded in agreement with Konan's words, but when he did not answer, she said a soft goodbye and left the room, knowing he wished to be left alone to think. With what Kyo had been saying to him over the last few days, Pein had figured out that she hadn't told her employers about her Rinnegan—for a reason he wasn't about to pursue. Somehow it seemed like it wasn't something she would allow them to abuse, and with the situation how it was, Pein could contemplate the idea of letting her go; allowing her to continue with her life in the way it had been before. She wasn't a threat to them, that was clear, and he hadn't given her enough information to use against them if she was questioned about it.

But still…the idea didn't feel right.

Kyo had so much potential without the Rinnegan in the first place, and yet Pein had never heard of her position or abilities. It was almost as if she had been kept away from the outside world, away from anyone's view; but in a sense, Pein could understand. Kyo's power _was_ covetable, and it might have been possible that ninjas would approach her and try to tempt her away. Not that it would work now. Somehow or other they had got her into such a state of submission that there wouldn't have been anything anyone could have said to get her to leave of her own free will. Her job and purpose in life had been to serve them completely. Though from her personality it was clear that that wasn't what she truly desired in life. The way she adapted to living with the Akatsuki and being in this atmosphere was proof of that. By letting her go, anyone could come across Kyo—she didn't know where she was at the moment; and her compliance would simply encourage people to recruit her.

Of course, Pein knew he wasn't about to kill her, that inner protestation rising within him every time he thought of it. It certainly would be a waste, anyway…Plus, he had already told Kyo she was to be staying with them; even if he _had_ maintained that she wouldn't be working with them as a member. But technically that wouldn't be fully true even if she did begin doing missions. Without Orochimaru's ring for her to wear, it would be a case of her wearing the Akatsuki cloak to show her alliance, but nothing more. Pein couldn't help but smirk at that thought—it was a clever technicality that he could use to his advantage. He wouldn't be going against his word and changing his mind, but it would give him a reason to let her do missions and give her a purpose.

But the question about the Rinnegan still remained, however, and Pein paused, the smirk slipping off. What was he going to do about that? Kyo would still possess it, despite the fact she would be doing Akatsuki missions now. She'd made a lot of progress with it, true, but the control wouldn't be fully developed, and he wanted to tread carefully in terms of letting the knowledge she had it out there. How Kyo had it in the first place remained a mystery. He didn't want to tell her to hide it away, but starting to use it in every day battle was an uncertainty, too; not to mention she still needed to train it, and Pein couldn't just give her free reign with that, either. But then suddenly it hit him, and he instantly began to contact her telepathically.

He knew just what to do.


	9. Chapter 9

When Pein contacted her telepathically, it had been quite surprising.

After all, with the way his attitude had been towards Kyo so far, making the effect to contact her seemed a little unusual, and she began to prepare herself for the sudden change in personality that normally happened after a few moments of speaking to him. So imagine Kyo's surprise when he abruptly told her that he wanted to talk to her once again; about something important. That he'd finally come to a conclusion about her, and what her purpose would be while she was staying with the Akatsuki—before his dark, mysterious, enthralling voice faded from her mind and the conversation ended, leaving her standing there, shocked and deep in thought.

For a moment, Kyo didn't know how to react. She'd only been speaking to him a minute ago—how had he managed to come up with a conclusion in such a short space of time? But then again, she had been here for a few days now, and in the same way she had often pondered her situation, Pein must have done the same; it was _his_ organization, after all. Thus Kyo's uncertainty faded instantly as she turned and started back towards the hideout, an almost childish streak of excitement building up inside of her now that she would finally know what would be happening, after all this time of living in the dark. A question that had haunted her during the day as well as the night…was now about to be answered, and Kyo allowed herself a small smirk as it appeared on the horizon and she headed for the door.

It was only as she rested her hand on the doorknob that Kyo suddenly paused, something else flashing up into her mind. True, Pein had come to a decision…but what was that decision going to be? Kyo now started to consider the options, and found herself strangely concerned about the way things would go from here. It hadn't been very long since she'd been here, Kyo knew that, but in a way, she enjoyed the atmosphere in the hideout. Though the other members could get aggressive with each other and start to argue, they were all so different and intriguing; an eclectic bunch of ninjas she never would have met where she used to work. Although they all followed a certain set of rules, there was never full control, and it let them keep their own identities while working for the Akatsuki, treating them as equals and respecting them as ninjas. It wasn't as if they'd treated her badly; with the likes of Itachi, she'd even say she'd become quite good friends. So what if Pein had made the decision to get rid of Kyo? There might even be a chance he'd changed his mind and was going to kill her anyway, cutting his losses while he could. The image of leaving the Akatsuki didn't seem as alluring a prospect as it had before.

Then Kyo's grip abruptly tightened over the handle of the door, and she finally opened it and walked in, a determined look on her face. True, either of those options could be the real one, but she wouldn't know until she got there. When she had first arrived, she had understood just where Pein was coming from when he suggested killing her because of her Rinnegan—and that still stood. But she wasn't so willing to stand there and take it this time; she wanted to at least get her opinion across _once_. After seeing the likes of Hidan, speaking out didn't appear such as a task as much as it might have done in the past, and Kyo continued on confidently, eventually arriving at Pein's door and knocking softly, entering once he gave a word of assent to do so.

He had his back to her, still not turning as she closed the door behind her and walked forward into the room. As Kyo came to a halt, standing firmly in her position, a second of silence passed between them as she waited for the right moment. But eventually she threw caution to the wind and opened her mouth to explain herself, when Pein got in before she could do so, beginning simply,

"I know you've spent the last few days here not knowing what would happen to you, Kyo, and I apologise for that. But I needed to come up with an answer as to what to do with you…and I have."

Quietly, with narrowed eyes, Kyo questioned as to what that answer was in return, her heart beating slightly faster at the prospect—but even she hadn't been expecting him to continue bluntly, glancing over his shoulder to make eye contact as he did so,

"You said your Rinnegan had only developed a couple of weeks ago, correct? And that you had been training it at the time when the subordinates picked you up—that your employers didn't know about it. You're powerful enough without it, Kyo, I'll admit it, and it was that that made me decide to allow you into the Akatsuki."

All thoughts of getting her opinion across fell from Kyo's mind as Pein's words finally occurred to her, and she couldn't help but smirk at the fact that her worries had been completely destroyed and the hope that she had considered to be miniscule was now becoming reality. Immediately she spoke up, taking a step forward to emphasise her dedication,

"I won't let you consider it a mistake, Leader-sama, if you do this—I promise. I'm willing to do what it takes."

Though she then fell quiet as Pein cut in once more, fully facing the window again,

"Good; because there is a condition. Your Rinnegan adds a special factor to your abilities, and although I do not know how you came to possess it, I do not want it going to waste. It requires control in order to achieve master—and I _do_ want you to achieve it. As such, even though you are now an Akatsuki member, you won't be doing missions for the moment. You will be training with me."

Kyo's heartbeat increased rapidly as Pein finished speaking, for a reason she wasn't entirely sure of. All she knew was that she was pleased at this news—no, more than that; glad, excited, grateful, _happy_ even. She had expected Pein to want to gouge out her eyes to get rid of the Rinnegan, not state he was going to _train_ her with it. A part of her remained shell-shocked by this information, replying quieter than she might have been otherwise,

"Really? You're actually going to train me?"

Bizarrely, however, those words halted Pein in his path as he thought them over, prompting him to pause as he stood there. Kyo noticed it, even as he turned a second later as if it had never happened, shaking it off as he answered firmly,

"Yes. You're ready."

Bowing in thanks, Kyo swiftly turned and left the room, trying desperately to push away the swelling of pride and almost joy that rose in her chest, focusing on Itachi as he approached and stated he'd been told to get her a cloak now that she was one of them. Nodding in agreement, she followed on after him and put it on the moment he handed it to her, unable to hide the smirk that flashed up onto her face as she did so. Itachi returned it in full, and after letting the rest of the group see her and congratulate her on finally joining the Akatsuki, Kyo had retired to her room, sitting down on her bed with an inward sigh. After everything that had happened—and happened so fast—she needed some time alone to get a grip on her thoughts. Never had she imagined that Pein would say she could join; let alone that he was willing to train her. Back where she had been living before, Kyo had done all she could to gain knowledge about the Rinnegan, reading up on it and teaching herself the techniques—but she had known it would never be as good as having a teacher. As having someone who really knew what they were doing. But once again it had fallen straight into her lap, starting to imagine what training sessions with Pein would be like. Nodding and smirking with this thought, Kyo knew she was definitely looking forward to this.

Especially the fact it was Pein to begin with.

But he was still running his mind over Kyo's earlier words; when she had asked if he would really be training her—because it had caught him out in a way he wouldn't have thought possible. He _would_ be showing her what to do and all that Kyo could do to enhance her abilities and gain full control, so yes, in that sense, he was training her. But the thought that it wouldn't be the same kept popping up into his head and wouldn't go away. Though in the conventional sense he was training her, Pein knew he would never see her as a student; she was his equal—and the thought that caught him out the most—

Or maybe even more than that.


	10. Chapter 10

Kyo had forced herself to sleep that night to make sure she was ready in the morning. She had forced herself to eat even when her stomach was churning slightly in apprehension for what would come that day. Though she would never _dream_ of letting it affect her, it was still there, and she made sure it was under control, focusing on other things. She had then trained a little, doing a few exercises and a bit of practice in her room to get her adrenalin going and so she was on her toes for when the training session began—even if she hadn't been given a time or place quite yet.

But she still couldn't stop the thoughts in the back of her mind.

She hated feeling like it. Though she wouldn't say she was arrogant, bragging that she was one of the top ninjas in the world and could take down anyone, Kyo knew she was a high level ninja. The techniques she knew, the level to which she had developed her speed, strength and agility and the knowledge and experience she had gained showed that; especially when she fought. There hadn't been a ninja village that had granted her a headband or a flak jacket, or going through a ceremony that deemed her a chunin or jonin—but she hadn't needed one. When she was assigned a mission, she was able to complete it with ease and had been given a high position in her work. Though she had no official certificate, Kyo knew she had to be at least jonin level.

So why was she doubting herself like this?

Pein had said himself it was because of her abilities that he was letting her join the Akatsuki, and if he was willing to train Kyo himself then he had to believe she had _some_ potential for this. Yet every time she thought about the training, the idea of her doing something wrong; of not being able to pick up a technique and seeing Pein's reaction when she did so…it caught her out every time. But Kyo couldn't back down; she wanted to learn to use the Rinnegan for herself, not just her work, and it would only make things worse in the long run. Pein would think she was weak and incapable of dealing with everything, and that was the last thing she wanted him to see her as. Kyo had always had to be independent to get anywhere in life, and if people saw her as weak then she would lose everything. She had gone through too much to lose it all now. By working this closely with Pein she could really develop her abilities, after all…and it was with this thought that she calmed down a little, sitting on her bed to meditate.

There were other things to think about, when it came down to it. Kyo couldn't stop herself from feeling interested at the idea of what Pein would be like when they did start to train together. His attitude might have chopped and changed while she had been here the last few days, but this would be a whole new situation. Back then he had been almost her captor, deciding her fate. Now, however, he was her sensei, teaching her in order for her to become part of the organization. How would he react to that? She wasn't expecting a huge change—Pein wasn't exactly the type of man for that—but when it came down to what he said and did…would anything be different? Everything about this place seemed to be, when it came down to it.

Her former employers would never have done anything like this—well, if they had known about the Rinnegan. They kept her at arms length at all times, merely treating her as a faceless, nameless thing that did the missions they needed done. If any of them noticed her abilities were slacking, then they would speak up; but it would be a word of warning and an order to keep training to make sure she stayed at the top of her game. There was never any check up on what she was doing and making sure Kyo had all she needed to reach her full potential. Back there…if she had wanted to get stronger and more powerful—if she had wanted to learn new things—then she would have had to do it herself.

The story of her life, really.

Maybe that was why it felt so strange. Ever since she was little it had been about self-survival. It wasn't that she couldn't understand the concept of protecting those you cared about, but it had never occurred to her, because there was no one around for her to protect and take care of. Without her parents she had learned to survive on her own and advanced her ninja abilities enough to be able to perform missions to earn money, and had learnt the ways of the world while she was still so young, understanding just how dark the world could be. Her aloof manner had surfaced from this; by becoming emotionless, it aided her in several ways. It was a rule of the ninja, and therefore would help in her training, giving a better impression to people who might hire her; and it helped her continue on with her life even when she was seeing so much destruction and corruption around her. By remaining distant, Kyo didn't truly have to deal with it all.

Then her employers had noticed her, and considering they were offering her a job with money and a place to stay…Kyo had taken it. Not that her independent way of life had disappeared when she did take it, however. They ordered her to their office and told her what she was meant to be doing, delivering scrolls and weapons and allocating time to be spent on training—but no one had ever been there while she did so. Kyo's training continued alone, and she made her own meals, cleaned her own space and dealt with her own possessions as if she was living alone. She was still doing the same now, even in the Akatsuki, but there seemed to be a much higher emphasis on teamwork. After all, all of the members worked in two man cells, and needed to work with each other in order to get the missions completed. It was this unusual change that was making things difficult, and Kyo could only hope she would be able to adapt to it.

Pein was starting to feel the same.

Kyo had seemed fine with the idea of him training her—maybe even excited about it. It wasn't as if it bothered him, either; he just felt he was seeing it in a way that wasn't how he should be. Her abilities were going to be an asset to the Akatsuki, in the same way all the other's abilities were an asset. That was why he had decided to make her a member. The fact she had the Rinnegan altered things slightly, it was true, especially as he didn't know how she had come by it, but it didn't change much. It was merely something else that cemented her position in the organization, but because of her lack of experience with it, Pein was going to train her. She needed to know how it worked and all the techniques it could bring her.

Yet it seemed like more than that as he thought about it that morning, sitting at his table, slowly sipping his tea as he stared out the window and the landscape beyond. This training appeared to Pein as a chance for a lot more than just honing Kyo's skills with the Rinnegan. All the time she had been there he had been unable to treat her normally—but it was only now that Pein was beginning to understand just how far that went. He had dismissed everything; brushing it under the carpet and acting as if it didn't exist. But with the fact he was going to be spending a lot more time with Kyo and in such close contact, he couldn't anymore.

Taking a deep breath, Pein closed his eyes for a moment and let everything sink in. He would have to admit there was a connection between them, whether he wanted to or not. The moment he had begun to talk to Kyo he had been able to spot similarities between them, and he couldn't make it any other way—they would always remain. Keeping her at arms length had seemed the best way to deal with things before, but now it had changed, and Pein didn't have to. Allowing himself to get closer; to try and understand Kyo a little more wasn't necessarily a bad thing unless he made it so. He knew he could get on with her, and that was the way things were.

So as Pein and Kyo opened their eyes simultaneously, they finally felt prepared for the day ahead.


	11. Chapter 11

At around eleven, the training session finally took place.

After having Pein contact her telepathically, she had left the hideout and met him in their now official training spot; a clearing a few metres away from the shores of the local lake. That way it gave them the best selection of all sorts of terrains, and allowing all chakra natures to be easily within reach. Kyo had had to resign herself to a brisk walk to the clearing, not wanting to seem _too_ keen, but not wanting to be late, either—but eventually she arrived, watching Pein carefully as he removed his cloak and placed it to the side, revealing his muscles underneath.

Right away Kyo found herself unable to look away, and for a reason she couldn't quite perceive. She'd seen other men in just a shirt, and others without one at all, and with several of them being ninjas, they too had had muscular bodies. But looking at Pein…suddenly the situation become utterly different, and automatically she began to analyse his body, only snapping out of it as she was within a few steps from him. Shaking off that unusual trance, wondering why that had happened, Kyo focused back in on the task at hand and called out a soft greeting, causing Pein to turn and face her with a nod. For a moment there was silence, uncertainty hovering in the air even with how authoritative both of them could be, their intense gazes locked, before Kyo finally spoke up, smirking as she said playfully,

"Am I to be calling you 'sensei', Leader-sama? Or something else?"

"I think we've both been ninjas too long for 'sensei' to be appropriate anymore, Kyo. We'll stick with what we have. Are you ready to get going?" Pein shot back simply, reflecting her smirk, and nodding in agreement with his words, he stepped forward towards her, and the training began.

Kyo's ponderings had been proven right; his attitude did change as they trained. It was as if coming to this decision had lifted a weight off of his shoulders, as he was a lot more casual in her presence—even if he never lost his stoic, aloof manner in the meantime. But that _was_ to be expected; before, Kyo had merely been a stranger who had somehow developed the Rinnegan without him ever having known about it and was working for another group of ninjas—he had every reason to be on guard. Now, however, she was one of them; a member of the Akatsuki. That meant he could treat her like he would any other member; a fact that brought a little more relief to Kyo than she would have liked.

To begin with, Pein chose theory, explaining different things about the Rinnegan and going over the information she already knew. It was clear Kyo had been studying it, as she finished sentences for him and was able to explain things herself as they conversed. Pein was glad of it, though, as it showed she really wanted to learn and had been willing to do whatever she could to learn control even when she didn't have much to go on. Impressed at her determination and drive, he relaxed even more, eventually simply sitting down with each other as they spoke. It was then that he began to ask questions, though he didn't exactly want to. It felt like that was all he had been doing to Kyo for the last few days—but he needed to know what she had been able to train with.

But it was obvious he didn't need to ask much.

After a few minutes Pein could see Kyo was perfectly capable of dealing with the techniques, regardless of what he would be doing with her. As such, he stood up, and they moved onto the more practical side of things, starting with the basics to get a better idea of where they would go from there. Kyo knew a lot of things for a beginner who had heard of the Rinnegan only in rumour a fortnight ago, and Pein started off by helping her in perfecting her basics, giving her instructions on how to gain more control and understanding of them. He wasn't about to treat her like a child, saying words slowly and clearly to make sure she understood—her intellect was above average. But he wasn't about to push Kyo, either. He could comprehend that it might be difficult to learn all of this without any prior knowledge.

Though that thought went out the window a little while later.

There was no need to take things slow with Kyo. When he pointed out a way to perfect a basic technique, she repeated it the second after, and Pein could only look on in amazement as Kyo did the same thing with the rest. Though she sometimes paused after he explained something, he noted it was never because she was confused and didn't understand; a look of incomprehension was never evident in her eyes. Instead it was merely a look of pure thoughtfulness as she ran over his words once again in her mind and allowed herself to fully understand every aspect of what Pein was suggesting. From there…it all just unraveled. With most of the techniques he explained, she picked it up within one try, the rest in three at the maximum, needing the other two to merely test out what she was doing.

Sometimes Pein demonstrated the ability himself, unable to fully describe what Kyo would need to do with words. That didn't make things any harder for her, however, as she would then get up, move forward and replicate it in the exact same way as he had done. Not only that, but the theory was easy for her to remember, too. It was the kind of natural talent that Itachi no doubt had showed; but at one point when she practiced a technique, Pein slowed to a halt and simply observed her not in terms of her abilities, but of who she was as a person, once again wondering about her past and what had happened; how she had become like she was now.

Because a part of him couldn't help but feel there was more to Kyo's instinctive inclination to pick things up like that. That maybe it wasn't just natural…but something she had forced upon herself when she was younger. She had said she had lost her parents when she was very young, but there had clearly been a gap between that and getting noticed by the group of ninjas that had employed her for the majority of her life. In that time she must have had to learn how to survive by herself and develop her ninja abilities without any training. With the determination Kyo showed in front of him now, Pein contemplated if she had pushed herself to always get things right at the first try.

That way it would lessen time for training and she would be more capable and stronger—ultimately, more likely to survive. Kyo had had to be at the top of her game at all times in order to protect herself and to get missions to earn money. Though it can't have stopped when she was picked up by those ninjas. Her obedience and mandatory respectfulness to everyone around her suggested that her employers had made her be that way. But if that was the way they treated her personality and identity, then this tyrannous attitude must clearly have extended into her ninja abilities. It wasn't hard to imagine them constantly telling her to train and get stronger so she would be able to complete as many missions as possible. So by being able to learn things so quickly, she became a great asset to them; like a weapon, they could simply slot in a battle adaption as easy as anything that would strengthen it to a new level.

He had been alone for a time in his life…but he had found something to fight for.

What had there been for Kyo? How had she managed to retain her open-minded and philosophical attitude to life with all that had happened to her?

Pein's intrigue only increased with these thoughts, and when they took a break from training to get something to eat, he was unable to stop himself from speaking up. Only this time, their dialogue easily deviated from the training; of what they were doing and what Kyo would do once the training was over. It became a simple conversation, wandering over general topics and finding out more about each other. The similarities they had both thought were there became cemented as they talked, and the lunch break became a lot longer than they had intended. Even when the training session finished for the day, they still hovered in each other's presences, chatting idly until Kyo said goodnight, wandering off to her room to get some sleep, her thoughts still on Pein. He merely watched her go as she did so, not truly comprehending the kind of things he was thinking or feeling at the moment, but knowing one thing for certain, at least.

He was going to give Kyo her identity back.


	12. Chapter 12

So Kyo's training continued in much the same way.

Slowly but surely she advanced up the different techniques available to her, mastering each chakra nature in turn and all the things she could do, making sure she maintained control all the while. Pein still couldn't understand why she kept at the speed she did, and yet admired it at the same time. Everything she learnt she picked up instantly, and yet she wouldn't allow herself to move on to the next level until she had practiced it for quite a while. If she got one thing out of place while doing the jutsu, Kyo got frustrated and did it again; it had to be utterly perfect in her eyes before she considered herself ready to go on with the training. It was her past affecting her this way—Pein knew it—but he knew it wasn't his place. Fighting with a jutsu that wasn't ready was a risk, after all…

Even if he could see she had perfected it hours ago.

It seemed like the perfect match for both of them. Pein's curiosity in Kyo's life and personality was sated as he spent time with her, but not in a way that meant he intruded in her privacy and personal space. He could come to understand her more—and ultimately come to understand himself and what was changing within him. Kyo, however, was beginning to see how she could adapt. For so long she had lived in a certain way, constantly obliging and never going against an order, but everything was changing now. A main focus of her life had always been self-preservation and survival, and a key element to that was being able to alter and adapt to the world around you when it began to change.

The more time she spent in the Akatsuki—the more time she spent training with Pein—the more Kyo began to realise just how desensitized she had been from the world; how blind she had been to so much around her. Her mind had been controlled into seeing the world one way, and one way only; but now it was all being fully revealed to her, and she could comprehend it. She could see the truth, and could deal with it all in a way she had never been able to as a child. Finally she was able to move forward in terms of her life, almost feeling as if her development as a person had halted when she had joined with her former employers.

But it wasn't like that anymore.

That didn't mean to say the whole situation was sorted. There were a lot of things happening around Kyo that she still couldn't understand; that remained strange to her. Most of it was to do with Pein. He was teaching her and training her, just like he had planned it to begin with; but somehow it had become more than that. Just like it had done the first time, they would talk when they both stopped to get something to eat and take a break, sitting together in the kitchen and chatting about general things. When the training ended, there had been a couple of times they had just sat together, watching as the sun began to set and set the sky on fire with its bright colours, not needing to talk. It was those moments that got to Kyo the most. How was she alright with the idea of just sitting in silence with him? Her gaze would be on the sky, but she could feel his presence there—and it calmed her. The need for words just faded…and she merely found herself enjoying his company, nothing more.

Kyo just couldn't comprehend how things had changed like this. As they trained, a friendship had begun to form between them, and it was the strangest sensation; something Kyo couldn't help but think about in the moments before she went to sleep. Not that she would let it affect her training, and she tried as hard as she could to keep her eye on the game and focus on what she needed to do; on what Pein had recruited her for in the first place. If she didn't, then she wouldn't be needed here anymore, and Kyo wasn't ready to give up on the Akatsuki yet. Although a lot of it was unusual to her, it was in a good way, and she felt freer than she had done in a long time.

Pein could see the change in Kyo as they hung out together, noticing a difference in the way she spoke or in something she did. The fact that she let herself spend time with him, talking during the breaks they had and after the training was finished was proof of that. Though her obedience never fully faded, still instantly complying with whatever he said, there were other things about her that began to take shape, and he could see more of her inner personality coming out. A fire that Kyo could possess if she found something to fight for, and one that started to reveal itself a couple of days later.

She was training with the different chakra natures that could be all be mastered through the Rinnegan. This time she was changing from wind nature to fire nature, one attack after the other, using two separate jutsu. Firstly she tried the jutsu on their own, just so she was able to understand how they worked and was able to use them to their highest potential—something Kyo spent a lot of time on in order to perfect them, as usual. Then she began to use them one after the other, slowly increasing the speed with which she did so, Pein wanting her to become fast enough to almost combine the two together.

This continued repeatedly, Kyo bordering on mastering it, Pein egging her on as she repeated the jutsu over and over again, getting stronger and faster each time she did it. But he couldn't see the thought process that was occurring as Kyo went on with her training. She had remembered doing a similar technique like it when she had still been working in her old village—but it hadn't gone as well as it was now. Although she had worked as hard as she possibly could in order to master it, her bosses had simply told her it wasn't good enough and that she had to do it again, without even a word of congratulations for how far she had come in such a short space of time. That was utterly different to how it was now. Pein was pushing her, true, but it was because he knew she could do it, and had complimented her before on how quickly she excelled. Because of this, she felt a swell of confidence as she trained. They had pushed her down all her life, saying that without them, she would have been dead. Then what had happened? She was with a more powerful group; training with an ability that they didn't even know she had—and Kyo wasn't about to give it up.

She'd show them.

The moment the thought flickered through her mind, Kyo unleashed the chakra needed for the jutsu, only fully seeing how much power she had put into it once it had been performed. The area in front of her was engulfed in flames, only enhanced by the tornado that appeared, swirling the flames around until everything was on fire. The wind itself cut straight through the trees around her, destroying everything in its path. For a moment, all Kyo could do was stand and stare. She had always known she had had power, but never that it could be strengthened in this kind of way—by letting herself feel that drive within her. Passion had never come into it before; she had had to focus on the jutsu she was performing and knowing she was using it against an opponent; the motivation for why she was doing so was simply brushed aside. But now Kyo could see it meant more than that. That by finding a reason to fight…it gave you strength. More strength than could be gained through mere training.

Smirking at this thought, she glanced to the side to see Pein's reaction—only to find he wasn't there. Her heart automatically clenched, frozen as she span around to look for him. But all that was around her was flames and destruction; Kyo had been paying too much attention to the jutsu to notice what Pein was doing; but with the force of her chakra, it would have easily knocked him away. It could have seriously hurt him. Kyo finally managed to force her legs to move, dodging past the debris and looking everywhere for Pein, calling out his name to try and get him to answer. She wouldn't leave a stone unturned in her search for him, and pressed onwards, concentrating on nothing but Pein. For the first time in her life, Kyo dismissed the fact that he was her boss and her sensei.

All she cared about was finding her friend.


	13. Chapter 13

Pein paused for a moment, looking round and making sure that there was nothing else around him that could cause him to burst into flames or get cut in half.

Once he was satisfied with that, he quickly turned to the burnt patch on his shirt, patting out the embers to make sure they didn't spread, glancing back up afterwards as he waited for the adrenalin rush to pass. He could only look around in awe at what Kyo had done, actually shocked at the amount of damage she had created. He had known she had a hidden fire within her—that could increase her power if she found something to fight for—but he had never imagined it would turn out like _this_ once she let it out. It had just engulfed everything in a matter of seconds, and if Pein hadn't already been on his toes and had the speed and reaction time, he could easily have ended up as destroyed as the rest of the surroundings. Even then he hadn't completely escaped it.

The slight burns on his clothes proved that.

But the memory of Kyo's chakra exploding out of her and the flames coming towards him flickered through Pein's head, and he couldn't help but smirk at it. Just like always, Kyo had managed to exceed his expectations to the highest degree. He'd have to make sure he was more careful next time, and guessed it was best to spend the rest of the day on control. Kyo probably wouldn't be happy with it, after all, considering how perfect she liked her jutsus to be. To have it blow up like that was a sign of lack of control for her, and she hated the idea more than anything. Not that she would be able to convince Pein what she had done was a bad thing. By allowing herself to feel that drive and motivation, she had taken a step towards coming into contact with her true identity.

Then abruptly he heard someone calling out to him, and Pein quickly snapped out of his thoughts. Kyo was still around, no doubt, but after the jutsu he had had to back off swiftly to avoid the flames, and now she hadn't a clue where he was. Knowing how focused she was on obeying her leaders and how she always made sure they were okay, he gathered she was a little concerned with what had happened. Wanting to tell her how impressive the jutsu had been as well, Pein turned and stepped past the debris, making his way over to Kyo and calling out her name in greeting.

Hiding a sigh a relief as she span round, she rushed over and looked him up and down, frowning in frustration at herself as she responded,

"Leader-sama! I should apologise—I didn't mean for it to happen. I thought…are you alright? Did you get burnt?"

Her gaze flicked down to the holes in his shirt and the idea that he might be hurt. But somehow Pein couldn't focus on that to begin with. The way she had spoken to him…questioned about his welfare…though she had called him leader, the tone wasn't how he would have expected it to be. Kyo seemed a little more concerned than she would have been a while ago—more relaxed in his presence and treating him in a different way for once, not bothering with formalities and simply concentrating on what was in front of her. Namely—him. Not that that was a bad thing; if anything, it was good—a strange feeling erupting within Pein as he thought about it.

But realizing Kyo was beginning to blame herself and was convinced she had hurt him, he shook it off to reply quickly, taking a step towards her,

"Kyo, I'm alright. Really. My shirt's a little burned, but not me. I got out of the way in time, and you didn't hurt me."

Immediately she raised an eyebrow in return, clearly not believing him in the slightest. Pein wasn't exactly the type of man to admit he'd been hurt, ready to go on regardless. Not to mention he was training her; he most likely didn't want her to refuse to do any more jutsus because she was afraid she'd hurt him, and therefore would avoid it by stating he wasn't hurt. But smothering a smirk at how stubborn Kyo could be sometimes, her obedience somehow faded for the moment, Pein didn't take his eyes away from her, both of their gazes locked together as he replied firmly,

"I promise you, Kyo, that I'm not hurt. In fact—I'll prove it."

With that, he peeled off his shirt, not needing to hesitate, pointing out the areas where his shirt had been burnt and showing that his skin was unmarred underneath. Not a scar marked his skin, the flames having not managed to get that far, and pointed out that fact out loud triumphantly. Kyo forced herself to not roll her eyes at his actions, merely nodding and admitting that he wasn't hurt, swiftly turning away afterwards and heading back to their original training spot, keeping her eyes on the floor to try and think about anything else apart from how Pein was no longer wearing his shirt. Her mind could focus on nothing but the piercings on his chest and how muscled he was in general, and shaking her head slightly to try and force those images away, Kyo walked onwards.

Why did it matter? It wasn't important, after all. Kyo worked around men a lot more than she did women, so it wasn't the general idea he was male that was getting to her. She'd seen men without shirts before, as well, when they had to change or they had wounds on their torsos, and those who didn't wear one in the first place. Each time she hadn't felt like this before; it was human anatomy, when it came down to it, and being ninjas, then generally they had muscular bodies. So why was Kyo getting so affected now that it was Pein who was doing so? This unusual— _fluttery_ —feeling in her stomach appeared, and she couldn't see it in the normal way like she had always done before. Was it his piercings? Kyo hadn't seen man with piercings on his chest before. They were unusual…but they weren't something that disgusted her. If anything, they were interesting, and they only served to accentuate the muscles that were already on his chest—

Realizing what she was thinking, Kyo took a deep breath and glanced up at the path in front of her, getting slightly frustrated now. Looking at Pein shouldn't feel any different than it did to anyone else. It wasn't like it was _attraction_ , or anything—and he was her boss. It wouldn't be right. As such, she shook off all that she had been thinking and concentrated on the fact she had arrived back at the starting point, relieved as she saw that none of their things had been destroyed—having been just outside the destruction zone. Going forward, Kyo checked everything over, just to make sure, but finding nothing wrong as Pein finally caught up and arrived behind her.

"I think we'll tone things down for the rest of the day, Kyo—just to make sure that you'll have more control when you use the jutsu again. And you will be using it again—what you did was impressive."

Trying to ignore the feeling of pride that appeared as the words came out of his mouth, Kyo continued looking over their belongings, thanking him quietly without taking her eyes away. Taking a moment to allow the feeling to pass, Kyo finally replied, standing and turning round to face him as she did so,

"Nothing's damaged, Leader-sama. The flames must have stopped just before the clearing, so everything's alright."

But as Kyo's gaze reached Pein, she narrowed her eyes at what she saw. He wasn't meeting her eye, glancing to the side as if he was deep in thought, his ruined shirt still in his hands as he fiddled with it slightly. It looked as if he was contemplating something, and Kyo allowed him to do so in silence, waiting until he finally surfaced from his thoughts, beginning casually as he looked back at Kyo,

"Kyo, listen. I know there's been a lot happening, with you joining the Akatsuki and with me training you…but I want you to stop calling me Leader-sama. Just call me Pein."

Kyo froze at first, staring at him in confusion; but then shook her head firmly, gathering her things and running off without another word.

So not _quite_ the effect he wanted.


	14. Chapter 14

There were so many questions in Kyo's mind, and she couldn't answer any of them.

What would possess him to ask that? She was a member of the Akatsuki, just like the others—true, Konan called him Pein, but she had known him since they were children. Kyo worked for him and had pretty much been kept prisoner by him for a few days. Calling him by his first name wasn't right! He was her boss, and she followed his orders, completed the missions he assigned for her and whatever tasks he wanted her to do. Some boundaries just shouldn't be crossed, and this was definitely one of them. She had thought it was the kind of thing Pein would understand…and yet now he was the one standing there and asking her to do it in the first place.

She hadn't exactly wanted to run away. Kyo had never liked to seem weak to those around her, and running away from Pein when he had just asked her to do something wasn't really a strong thing to do. Whether he would be angry or not for her doing that was something else to consider, but for the moment Kyo pushed it aside, rushing back into the hideout. Whatever he would say, she would face later. But all that mattered to her now was getting away. Not that it would work particularly well, whatever she did. The thoughts followed her regardless of her position, and they wouldn't leave. Starting to head to her room, Kyo abruptly panicked; it was the first place Pein would look to find her, and as she glanced to the side and saw the door to the kitchen, she dived inside. Though it wasn't really a hiding place, it gave her a room to pause in for a second, get her mind under control and grab a drink while she was there.

Throwing her stuff into the nearest chair, glad no one else was around, Kyo went to the sink, grabbing a glass, but halted as she did so, simply leaning against the counter with an inward sigh, closing her eyes as she thought. What was she going to do? Experiencing new and unusual things was a regularity in the Akatsuki—everything was so different to how she had worked and lived before. But this…this was above and beyond anything Kyo had expected to surface—and from Pein himself, no doubt. She just didn't understand. All of her life that had been the way it was: the leader was the boss, and she did whatever they said without question. She was the worker who did what she was told, and with the different sort of lives they led and the different things they had to do, there was no need for them to cross. But Pein was changing that, and confusion was all that filled her mind. It had shocked her completely—and Kyo felt almost…afraid. She'd never had that kind of friendship before, and a part of her worried that she'd almost get it wrong.

By calling him by his first name she was getting closer to him than most did. Things had been strange enough with their relationship how it was and how much time they spent together talking when they weren't training, and it was getting worse. Getting close to people as a ninja was never a good thing. She had been close to her parents, like any child would be, and what had happened? They had been killed and she had been left alone. When she kept her distance and remained aloof to her employers and all the people that worked around her, Kyo had remained there for the majority of her life. She might not have fully enjoyed it, but the people remained. If she became close friends with Pein…it would end badly. Kyo knew it would.

Even if the idea did seem tempting…

Pein had begun to go after Kyo as she turned and ran off, but after a few steps he made himself stop and merely watch her disappear from sight. Clearly she wanted to be alone, and following her wouldn't make her talk to him—if anything, it would be the opposite. It was best to leave things be for the moment. At least then he might be able to figure out a few things himself. So he picked up his own belongings, slipping his Akatsuki cloak over his shoulders and headed straight back to his room. He could rely on that being empty and for no one to disturb him there.

Upon arriving, he closed the door quietly, throwing his shirt away and grabbing a new one, slipping it over his head and pausing as he noted the places that had been burnt on his old one. Glancing back up, he padded over to the window, leaning against the wall and gazing down at the landscape below, knowing it would be impossible to do anything else right now. His mind was too busy thinking about Kyo for him to be able to occupy himself—and looking outside seemed to be the only thing that could calm him for the time being. After all, what else was he supposed to do?

Maybe he shouldn't have asked Kyo to call him Pein. He'd known from the beginning she was incredibly obedient and if someone was higher in authority than her she would follow their orders to the letter, regardless of what it was or whether it went against her beliefs. Of course she was going to be surprised at the idea that her new leader was asking her to call him by his first name—but he had felt almost compelled to ask it. From the moment he had returned to her after the jutsu and saw how she reacted to what had happened and whether the flames had hurt him—from the moment he had heard the tone of her voice with which she said it to him—he had instantly thought of it. Every time Kyo said 'Leader-sama' he just wanted to stop her and tell her to say Pein. All the time he had walked back he had thought of it; so by the time she finally said it again, it was like he had no choice.

He just had to ask it.

Over the days they'd been training they had developed a friendship, of sorts. Kyo had to have noticed it herself—their relationship wasn't the same as if he had been training anyone else. It wasn't as if Pein had ever seen himself as her teacher, and Kyo had never reacted in a way that was like she considered herself a proper student. Had she really still felt that he was her boss and nothing more when they sat together during the breaks they had in training, eating and talking as casually as anything? Sitting watching the sunset together, not even needing to speak, wasn't exactly the kind of thing you'd do with your boss. And with what had happened today…he thought Kyo had seen it as more than that, too.

Rubbing his temples, Pein was torn between sighing and scowling at the situation. Things were going a lot deeper than he could ever have imagined. Kyo's attitude towards authority had been unusual to start with, but he was starting to understand that had just been scraping the surface. The closer he got to her, the more she seemed to push him away when she realised what was going on. Kyo hadn't seen her former employers as her bosses—they'd been tyrants, dictating every little thing she did and not allowing her any room for anything else in her life that was to do with her being an actual _person._ Having been orphaned at such a young age and having to fend for herself for several years hadn't exactly helped, either.

But no matter what he told himself, Pein knew he couldn't just keep away from her. They had a lot in common; he could see that from when they talked and when they trained together. They had a connection, and all in all it meant he looked at Kyo in a different light to how he saw most people. To how he had seen the majority of people in his life. Maybe it had always been there, from the point where the subordinates had dragged her in and told him that there was something he needed to see; maybe it had been why he had reacted so strangely when he had been trying to figure out what to do with her. But whether it had been there or not, he couldn't deny he was starting to care about her. Emotions weren't something he came about very often; so when he could feel them in everyday life, he knew they were there.

And he knew they weren't fading.

Kyo's didn't seem to be fading, either—but she didn't quite know what they were. They seemed familiar in some ways, but in others much stronger and in a different way. But they were getting to everything in her life, no matter how hard she tried to push them away. It had been what made her act differently when Pein had taken off his shirt; it was what made her consider treating Pein as more than just her leader. She felt that connection; she just didn't quite know what it meant.

But emotions were emotions, and they were all centred on him.


	15. Chapter 15

Kyo didn't know what to do about the training session today.

Not after what happened yesterday.

She lay in bed, staring at the sun slowly rising over the horizon, and contemplated all the options she had on offer for her. She could say that she was ill and couldn't do it today; that it was best for her to stay in bed and for no one to interrupt her—but it's not like anyone would believe that kind of 'coincidence' after all that had occurred. She could leave the Akatsuki completely in order to not have to deal with the suggestion at all; but that was a little extreme, and Kyo wasn't about to give up everything that had been given to her even with the problem she faced. The most obvious answer, of course, was to simply turn up at the training session and say yes; that she _would_ call him Pein and that they could go on as normal. But somehow every time she considered it…it didn't feel right.

Sighing, Kyo finally pushed herself up and got out of bed, neatly tidying it once she had done so through force of habit. With that, she turned and went into the bathroom, peeling off her clothes to step into the shower, leaving the temperature of the water cold. She needed something jolt her mind awake and help her focus, and allowed it to wash over her completely. Sleep hadn't been particularly easy last night, after all, with all that had been running through Kyo's mind and all that she was concerned about. What if Konan—or just any of the other Akatsuki members—turned up at her door and told her that there would be no training session today—that Pein didn't want to see her? Being the leader of an organization and having someone bluntly refuse to do something you'd asked wasn't a situation most would be happy with, and Kyo could understand if he was angry.

But she didn't want him to be; a sudden feeling shot through her the moment she considered it, feeling willing to do so much in order to stop that from happening. Frowning as she showered, closing her eyes in the onslaught of water, Kyo gritted her teeth and tried to push away what she was feeling. Back where she had used to work, though she had had colleagues and teammates, they had never truly meant anything to her, and had just been people she worked with, and nothing more. She had never cared about their opinions or shed a tear if something happened to one of them—it wasn't as if they were close. Kyo wasn't close to anyone. But now as she thought it over, she wanted to make things right. The concept of not having that same relationship with Pein as they had had before seemed horrible to her when she thought about it now, and she felt almost compelled to do something about it.

Though at the same time, the idea of calling Pein by his first name was something she winced at, having never dreamed of doing so to a leader before. It wasn't something she should even be contemplating, and shaking her head to get rid of these thoughts, Kyo finally turned off the shower and stepped out to get re-dressed. Why was she even feeling like this and having to think it over so much? It was that irritating urge to see Pein as more than just her boss—an urge that wouldn't go away, even with all that was happening at the moment between them.

Sighing, Kyo simply got ready for the day, wanting to get through it one way or another.

Pein was contemplating this training session, too. He was willing to turn up without a doubt; not only was it his own personal mission to train Kyo, but by having her there, he could try and get her to talk. She had stated yesterday that she wasn't about to call him by his first name; but having walked off straight afterwards, there had been no chance for him to ask why exactly she was so against it—even though he had a good idea what was influencing this whole thing. Her former bosses had already affected enough about Kyo's life as it was—was there anything about her they hadn't tried to destroy?

The more he dealt with it, the more frustrated he got. He felt a connection with Kyo and was able to see many similarities between them when it came down to beliefs, interests and general topics—but only when she was relaxed in herself. In the moments when they sat eating lunch together and pausing during training, or even just watching the sunset…Pein felt close to Kyo in a way he wasn't with anyone else. He knew he could understand her and comprehend the way she was with so many things. But at other times she was blunt and dismissive, nodding and obeying him without a protest, acting like a simple soldier talking to his leader. Every time Pein caught a glimpse of the true Kyo—her real, full identity—he wanted to know more; to get closer. But she kept him at arm's length. He'd thought by asking her to call him something other than 'Leader-sama', she could start seeing him in a different way.

Though it was clear the after-effects of her old life were still evident.

Would Kyo even turn up at the session? She had seemed shocked at it all yesterday, and hadn't appeared from her room for the rest of the night. What if she felt it was too awkward—or was concerned about how he would react after what she had done? It wasn't as if she cared about most people's opinions—she'd been alone for the majority of her life, anyway, and as such had gone on with missions and her job as a ninja as normal. But when it came down to working—to obeying someone's orders—then Kyo _did_ care; and care a lot. Then again, it made sense; it was her boss who would pay her and give her missions, so making sure she did things well and kept them happy was an obvious thing to do.

But shaking his head, Pein picked up his cloak and put it on, knowing Kyo would show up, regardless of how she was feeling. Yes, she cared about the opinion of whoever was her leader, but it overwhelmed her to the point where she wouldn't disobey an order to be trained by him. He had told her she would have to train with him to control the Rinnegan, and there was no way Kyo would go back on that. As such, he wasn't going to stand there staring out the window forlornly, becoming shy and subdued. He wanted Kyo to call him by his first name, and he didn't want her to feel as if she had to run away from him. He wanted her to talk—and the only way to do that was to confront her.

While eating breakfast, he'd tried to make himself eat slower to pass the time, thinking deeply as he did so, but even when he wandered down to their normal training spot Kyo was nowhere to be found. A slight hesitation at the idea she wouldn't show up at all, Pein brushed it aside to lean against a tree on the edge of the clearing, opting to wait a while. If she didn't arrive soon, then he'd leave—but he'd been trying to slow himself down before he got here—it was possible Kyo had been trying to do the same thing too. It didn't stop him from glancing around constantly to check if she was there, but he tried to focus on what he was planning to say.

Though he'd need to know how she would react, first.

A few minutes later, however, and Kyo finally arrived, looking down as she spotted Pein already there and not meeting his eye as she nodded simply in greeting. Responding with a more vocal greeting, to begin with Pein decided to try and forget about what had happened yesterday—to get back into the usual routine before he started up with his suggestion once more, and as such suggested the kind of thing she could train with during the morning. Only Kyo's reaction wasn't one he was particularly happy with, as she glanced up at him quickly and looked away once more, stating dismissively that it was up to him; nothing more. With that, she walked towards the centre of the clearing and started stretching, leaving Pein standing observing as she did so.

This was going to be more difficult than he had thought…


	16. Chapter 16

Pein seemed to know just what to do to make Kyo uncomfortable.

Though she was beginning to think it wasn't as purposeful as she'd thought.

His attitude had changed a lot since she had first arrived at the Akatsuki, being cold and aloof one minute and then normal the next. He'd become quite casual with her, seemingly more relaxed in her presence and not showing so much hesitation and restraint when it came to talking with and spending time with her. It hadn't been something Kyo had noticed had first; because in turn, she'd been doing the same, but there were still times when she paused, bewildered at how things had turned out. Not quite understanding why the situation was the way it was and how Pein had become this way with her.

But now things were really starting to change.

Maybe Pein had always acted this way towards Kyo, and she just hadn't spotted it, but as she began her training session with him that day, he appeared…gentler, if that word could be used in accordance with a man like Pein. Whereas yesterday his method of training had been egging her on and confidently stating things for Kyo to do next, he was more softly encouraging her today, explaining things carefully and allowing her to take her time. His general manner was calmer overall, as well, even in the moments when they weren't training and dealing with something else. But as much as Kyo felt he had changed because of what had happened yesterday, a part of her was beginning to wonder if he was just trying to make things easier for her.

Not that that in _itself_ was easy.

Kyo wasn't used to this kind of attention. Sure, she had had to deal with being the highest ranked ninja where she used to work; with leading the missions she went on and what people thought of her wherever she went. She had met ninjas who had heard of what she had done, and they mentioned a few things, and ultimately had had the attention on her—but it hadn't mattered. The first few were things that came with the job, and the others were things she couldn't change, but weren't about to let them affect her. By doing the amount of missions she did, there was bound to be people who knew about her—and those who took offence to what she had done.

But what Pein was doing was different—because he was waiting on her, instead of it always being the other way around. It was how it had been for Kyo; her leader would tell her something, and she would react off of it. Yet now it was Pein who was suggesting something, and seeing what decision Kyo would make. Whether or not she wanted to do something or just doing something in general and seeing what she would do in return. It felt like that whatever happened during this training session wasn't down to him, even though he was her leader and for the moment, her sensei—but instead it was down to her. She'd feel a shiver up her spine, and know his intense gaze was focused on nothing but her, watching and waiting—making her _less_ likely to know what to do to react!

He didn't stop, however, and persisted in what he was doing. Kyo wasn't speaking to him like she usually did and was acting so much more submissive. Pein didn't like it, and as such he was doing whatever he could to get her to talk to him again. That way he could figure out how she really felt about this whole situation and he would know where to go from there, instead of having this atmosphere around the both of them. Kyo knew he still had that suggestion in mind; he wasn't the kind of guy to give up easily, and the few times she did glimpse into his eyes that same determination and authoritative nature remained regardless. With his stature in life, getting what he wanted was never a hard thing to achieve considering the power he had. Only this time it was different. He didn't want to force it on Kyo, but for her to choose to do it of her own free will.

And to be honest…she was wavering.

A part of her really _was_ willing to agree to his suggestion, and not just because he was persevering in the way he was acting towards her. It didn't matter what she did to try and disguise it and force it away; not talking to him unless necessary and avoiding eye contact as much as possible…he still managed to have an effect on her, and Kyo didn't know why. All she could concentrate on was the idea that calling Pein by his first name didn't feel such a bad idea as it had done to start with. She'd been dreading this training session, not knowing how anything was going to go, but now she'd been forced into this situation with him, focusing on the training as they spent time together…things seemed clearer than they had before.

Pein had told her he wanted her to join the Akatsuki, and as such Kyo was now a member. But right away she had been different; considering she had the Rinnegan. At first Kyo had thought it would distance her from Pein...but it clearly hadn't turned out that way. Instead he was personally training her to learn how to use the Rinnegan, taking the time out of his usual daily routine and missions to do this, allowing her—time off, essentially—of missions in order to complete it. It wasn't even as if it was general ninja abilities, because the Rinnegan was special and unique—so instantly that meant Kyo would be sharing a closer bond with Pein with their shared kekkai genkai. Combine that with how much time they spent together and all he'd done for her…and Kyo was closer to him than most were in this world.

Konan was incredibly close to him, and knew him better than anyone; but they were childhood friends and had known each other all their lives, working together to where they were today; and still he didn't treat her like he did Kyo. Considering she hadn't known him that long, compared to everyone else, Kyo was closer to Pein than most could imagine they could be. But she had agreed to it all back then. She hadn't fought or struggled when being told she was joining the Akatsuki and was willing to work for him; and the idea that he would be training her personally had almost brought up a feeling of excitement within her. It had been willingly that she had gone, and willingly that she spent the breaks between training and the time afterwards with him. He hadn't suggested or forced Kyo to do _that_. When Pein had said he wanted her to call him by his first name, Kyo had stood there and been shocked at the idea her boss was saying that—but he'd done a lot more before it. Even the fear she had felt at the idea of getting close to him seemed to fade as she glanced up at him standing there, until eventually she burst out in frustration,

"Why do you want me to call you by your first name? You said you wanted me to, but never the reason why—so what is it?"

Smothering the feeling of relief that arose within Pein at the fact Kyo was finally speaking to him again, he merely turned to face her, meeting her gaze full on and not looking away as he replied simply,

"Because I'd consider you a friend, Kyo. It feels strange to have you standing there calling me 'Leader-sama' constantly when we train together and generally spend time together."

But for a moment, Kyo couldn't find anything to say to reply to that.

Immediately her defensive attitude began to fall at his words, having found them completely unexpected but knowing she was strangely glad he'd said them. All her life her focus had been her work; just following orders and doing what she was told. When she wasn't doing missions, true, she had her hobbies, but none of them had ever involved other people—like she'd said before…they were just colleagues. But Pein was standing there and saying he considered her a friend. Not only that, but as Kyo stared back at him she knew she felt the same. The concept of friendship was a little new for her, but she could understand it now, and the fact that Pein himself was the one stating it made it ever more significant. Her doubts and uncertainties faded, as she finally nodded slowly in agreement to his request, replying firmly,

"Alright…Pein."

Kyo had known everything was so different in the Akatsuki.

But now she could see it was only a good thing.


	17. Chapter 17

Things were much easier after that.

Kyo no longer felt so nervous around Pein when doing things, always conscious as to the fact he was her leader, and that by doing something wrong she would get punished. Slowly she could see that how she had been forced to see authority wasn't normal, and after all, she had known things were different with Pein from the start, whether it was with the Akatsuki or Pein himself; and by calling him by his first name it was only cementing this fact. She no longer contemplated what she was doing or considered it strange when she talked with him in the breaks between training and spent time together after their trainings sessions had finished. She could see now that although Pein might be her leader…

He was still her friend.

Instead she continued on as normal—well, as normal as she could do. There was still something there that was quite incomprehensible to Kyo, whether it was in something Pein himself did or said as he went about his daily routine, or something she herself felt or thought as the day went on. It was never something she dwelled on; knowing how much trouble working herself up about something trivial would cause, there was no point in doing so, and she wasn't about to let it happen again. For the meantime, Kyo just let it be, focusing on finally finishing her training and being able to start missions with the Akatsuki—though that in itself was something that brought about a strange feeling of sadness within her. She couldn't deny she'd had a good time training with Pein. Maybe it was that; the idea that she would have to leave him and go off on missions that was getting to her. But it shouldn't—it couldn't. Missions were missions, and it was her job to complete them. Though her attitude towards it had altered, Kyo wasn't about to change everything. Missions mattered, and she wouldn't turn one down or try and wriggle her way out of it.

But it wasn't something she would be forgetting easily. What she was going through was familiar somehow; as if she'd experienced it at some point in her life but had forgotten all about it. All she knew was that the more she looked at Pein, the more it seemed less like he was her leader. No matter how hard she tried to keep that fact at the back of her mind at all times, it would often fade when she spent time with him. All her life she had been alone and independent, having to survive on her own, with no parents, siblings or even friends to count on. Getting that job hadn't helped; that had kept her at arm's length and made her even more isolated than she had been before. But it wasn't like that with Pein. With what had happened, she had gotten closer to him than she had ever done to anyone—even her parents.

Only…she liked it. If anything…she wanted more.

Pein could understand what she was feeling; unsure how he felt about having to let Kyo do missions after all of this. He couldn't hold her back from completing her mastery of the Rinnegan; her skills ability to pick things up were too great for that. She was too thorough in perfection of her abilities for him to even point out she needed to go over something a few more times. But Kyo had shown him something different to how his daily life had been before; made a change in how things had gone on. He had enjoyed the conversations they had and the time they spent together, having never really had that sort of experience before but finally being able to understand it. Pein would only be wondering how her missions were going—and then there was the matter of who she was going with.

That was going to be a big issue. Pein knew Kyo had met the rest of the Akatsuki—he'd seen her with Itachi—but she had never spent time with them in the context of a mission. Working with them in a team, most likely spending one on one time with some as they travelled; having to sleep in the same places and eat together. Pein was her leader and the leader of the rest of the Akatsuki, he knew that, and he had to put everyone together in the best pairs possible in order to get the missions done. But when picking out a mission for Kyo, he would be crossing each Akatsuki member off the list one by one for trivial reasons that would most likely stem from jealousy for the most part, until he deduced that he was the one who she would pair up with the best.

But he couldn't do that; his own biases couldn't get in the way of the missions that needed to be done for the good of the organization! Distancing himself had always been a good way to stop that—but he couldn't do the same with Kyo; and Pein didn't know why. Now he was standing there trying to figure out a why of sorting everything out while still keeping Kyo close. But it wasn't as if he needed to—before Pein had even seen Kyo had the Rinnegan he had known she was powerful, and with her training, that had only been increased tenfold. She didn't need anyone to worry about her, and she could deal with anyone. It wasn't as if she would instantly get affected by any of the Akatsuki members—she wasn't like that. So why was he getting so obsessed?

For so long he'd been thinking about getting Kyo to call him by his first name, getting frustrated when she hadn't reacted in quite the way he wanted, and then being so relieved when she had finally agreed. Pein had always thought, especially when he was trying to get her to talk to him again, that once she started calling him by his first name, then everything would fine—things could go back to normal. And in sense, he guessed, it had. But there were still things that weren't right underneath the surface; things that remained affecting him, even more so now—things that he had most likely underestimated before and had ultimately worked their way inside his head.

Because now Pein had a hard time getting Kyo out of his head—though he was starting to think she hadn't left from the moment he had first met her. First off it had been the shock of her having the Rinnegan, and then deciding what to do with her. Even then there had been something about Kyo that had caught Pein off guard and left him unsure how to react towards her, telling her things that didn't even make sense. But once he had agreed that she would become an Akatsuki member, do missions with all of the Akatsuki members and allow him to train her to master the Rinnegan, his viewpoint on Kyo had altered. He still hadn't known how to fully treat her, but as they began to train, he had done nothing but think about what Kyo's past might have involved; why she was the way she was. He had wanted to help her, becoming utterly engrossed in her training and spending time with her.

He should have known something was definitely going on when he considered the idea of asking her to call him by his first name—and not only that, but spent so much time beforehand contemplating whether or not he should do it. That showed more than anything that he considered Kyo special; and he knew she was—but in a way that was different to anyone he'd known before. Pein wasn't about to stand there and deny it, backing away from the subject and acting like it didn't exist. He couldn't do that anymore; things had gone way past that point by now. But with the way things were going, he didn't really want to. He could only accept it:

Pein cared about Kyo.

It was the first thing that flashed through his mind when he went to their training session that day. Now he'd accepted what he felt towards Kyo, he could only watch every move she made and analyse it, finally allowing himself to see her in a way that had always been evident, but he'd always pushed to the side. He couldn't keep his eyes away from her—especially as she took off her top layer—and understood more than ever he couldn't just let it go. In the same way it had been with asking Kyo to call him by his first name, it bounced around his brain and made sure it was constantly in his notice.

Because he couldn't let it be anymore.


	18. Chapter 18

Kyo was in a good mood.

The day was a nice one, with clear blue skies and just the right temperature. She'd gotten over her worry about calling Pein by his first name and ultimately felt all the more relaxed for it. She enjoyed her training sessions as it was, knowing that she was improving her skills with the Rinnegan and just enjoying hanging out with Pein in general. But she was nearing the end of the training, having almost mastered the Rinnegan—something Pein had told her yesterday. She wasn't going to be the one to judge whether her abilities were ready, but she trusted Pein's judgement, considering his position and having mastered the Rinnegan already himself. Even if she was unsure about what would occur once the training was over and she started doing missions with the rest of the Akatsuki, Kyo couldn't deny she was definitely looking forward to finally mastering it all.

Pein could tell Kyo was in a good mood, and ultimately it had extended on to him, watching as she practiced jutsus and everything else with enthusiasm and a renewed vigour, enjoying observing her as much as she enjoyed doing it in the first place. But he hadn't been able to keep back a smirk when he had told her she was nearing completion of her training with the Rinnegan. She had looked at him in surprise as if she hadn't been expecting it in the slightest; almost looking unsure at the idea he was about to unleash her to the world with the abilities she had at present. But there was no doubt in Pein's mind, even if Kyo was unsure. With a few more training sessions, Kyo would be more than ready to start with her missions and get into her job.

Landing back on her feet as she completed the jutsu, Kyo glanced towards Pein, causing him to nod with a smirk in her direction—his equivalent of a 'well done'. Walking forward, they met each other halfway as Pein began to suggest what she should do next, trying to stop himself from smirking at how Kyo nodded at every sentence and listened intently to everything he had to say. Maybe for some people it was the respect she gave him that would grab their attention; but Pein never felt that—it was all that was underneath Kyo's surface respect and obedience to authority that he concentrated on, and it was ever present as she was training today.

Training was nothing unusual to Kyo, but what she found strange was how enjoyable she found it now. It became more of a pastime, whereas where she had been working before it had been nothing but a task that she had no choice but to perform, and in some ways, it had served as a survival technique. Pein, however, had managed to change that completely, and it felt like she was merely sharing a practice session with a friend—though she couldn't completely smother the urge to try harder than most would consider humanely possible. It had been hard-wired into her brain to do whatever it took to fulfill an order from a superior, regardless of how tired she was or whether it was something physically possible, and that hadn't fully disappeared.

But it was easier to forget as Pein joined in with her training.

Even more so when his shirt came off a little while later.

A part of Kyo wished he _hadn't_ done it as he placed it on the side of the clearing. She got distracted, her heartbeat automatically increasing if his torso got near hers. Sometimes it seemed she was physically unable to look away as he performed a technique, his muscles rippling with his body and the sweat running down his skin. But she was supposed to be training— _he_ was supposed to be her 'sensei'! She needed to focus; so at times Kyo could only wish that he'd just put it back on. Of course, there _were_ moments when she was fine with it; that it was his choice and he had every right to take it off. But those were the moments when he was demonstrating something or just talking to her about general training things—times when she didn't exactly need to concentrate.

It still surprised Kyo how much it got to her, even when there was so much else going on around her. Despite the way she had always been taught to treat and view authority, and the wariness she had had around Pein when everything was so uncertain, that feeling still surfaced inside of her, no matter what she did. Her opinion on it was much the same as her opinion on Pein taking his shirt off. Though she liked it…there were times she wished it wasn't there. But it changed nothing. This new feeling continued to follow her, and Kyo didn't quite know what to do about it.

Pein was unsure as well, but in a slightly different way to Kyo. He knew what he felt—it was just the consequences of that acceptance that were uncertain. Where was he going to go from here? Considering Kyo's reaction when he had asked her to call him Pein, going about the same approach with something like this was definitely going to be difficult. It had taken him this long to get her to see him as a _friend_ , let alone anything _more_. Every option he came up with was shot down the moment he re-thought it, and in the end he was wondering whether anything would work. But as he glanced back up at Kyo, he knew he couldn't back down from this. He'd never been one to give up, and he wasn't ashamed of what was going on. It was the just the how that was the hard part.

Though both of them shook off their thoughts as Kyo once again stepped forward to try out a new jutsu. After all, regardless of what was going on in their heads, they still had work to do. But even that didn't work to get Kyo's mind off of her confusion and incomprehension of her thoughts, however, as she felt something slice across her skin on her side while she attempted the jutsu. Immediately slowing to a halt, she glanced down at it and frowned in frustration at the sight of blood. She should have been more careful.

Pein didn't blame her; considering all Kyo had done, this was the first injury that had drawn blood—which could be seen as an achievement. Walking over to her the moment she stopped, asking if she was alright, he led her back over to the edge of the clearing so she could at least stop the bleeding, grabbing his shirt to use as a makeshift cloth to wipe it away. It wasn't too big, so neither of them were about to get worried and have to take her inside to sit down for a moment, but it was bleeding enough for it to take a minute or two to clot, and stepping round to the front, Pein checked it over, Kyo letting him slightly hesitantly at the closeness. Then reaching up, he wiped away the first bit of blood, using his other hand to turn her body a bit more towards him. Instantly, however, and Kyo jerked away from his hand, breathing,

"Pein, wait—"

Looking up with a frown as to the problem, Pein gathered what the problem was when he saw a slight smirk on her face, gathering it had tickled. But somehow her reaction didn't cause him to move away—if anything, it made him do the opposite. Suddenly all he could focus on was how close their bodies were, and the tone of her voice when she had jerked away caught him out, strangely alluring in the way she had said it. Staring at Kyo, all the feelings he'd been wondering about a while earlier surfacing with a vengeance, his hand moved almost automatically, as if he wasn't controlling it, and laid in the same place it had been before, resting gently on her side.

Feeling his touch again, Kyo turned her face to look at Pein, wondering what he was doing, but found herself taken back at the look in his eyes—and even more so as he leant in and pressed his lips gently but firmly up against hers. Instead of becoming completely frozen at the kiss, however, like she would have predicted she'd be, Kyo somehow instinctively reacted, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself closer. How long had she sat there contemplating her feelings—what she didn't understand? But now it all made sense. As such, she simply opened her mouth as his tongue dragged across her bottom lip, doing nothing as his hands slid around her waist and the waistband of her pants. This was what she had wanted for so long now. Maybe it had been because he was her boss that she had dismissed it and pushed it to the side—But she couldn't do it now.

Finally snapping back to reality, Kyo pulled back, prizing his hands off of her and stepping back for a moment. She'd gotten too caught up to think rationally, but now she remembered that there were other things to consider—even if Pein had forgotten them as he stood there with a frown of confusion on his face, not quite understanding what was going on here.

"Pein…no, we—we can't. It doesn't matter if I call you by your first name and hang out with you in my spare time…it won't make a difference."

So Pein could only stand and watch once again as Kyo turned and walked away from him.


	19. Chapter 19

What had Pein done wrong?

True, he had known things weren't going to be a walk in the park, but still. Had all he thought about been wrong? Kyo had reacted off of him; she had willingly spent time with him and chose to hang out. They got on well—she couldn't have been pretending just because he was her leader. He knew she had a thing about authority, but it wouldn't have stretched that far. He'd thought he was helping her break away from that former idea. That acting overly obedient wasn't a good thing; that it all needed to be in moderation. And he'd thought that in the process of that he'd found something else. There had been a connection between them, and it was clearly evident. So what was it? Did she not like him in that way, and he'd just dismissed that idea for his own feelings?

Or would she never let herself feel anything for him because of what she had always known?

Clenching his fists, through frustration rather than anger, Pein turned and picked up his shirt, slowly pulling it over his head before grabbing his cloak and heading straight back to the hideout. He was the leader of Amegakure and the Akatsuki. He'd worked out all the plans and goals they needed to go through in order to reach their ultimate goal and what he had been reaching for this entire time. Yet he ambled towards the hideout with his gaze stuck on his feet, thoughts firing around his brain but not being able to pick out a single one that truly made sense; that would help him get through this problem. For the first time in a long time…Pein had no idea what to do.

It had been bad enough before with getting Kyo to call him Pein. Things had been awkward and constantly on edge afterwards, and he had spent so long trying to figure out what he could do to make things better. But that had been about a name. How she saw authority had influenced, _that_ , yes, but she could easily have simply refused and things could go back to normal. Even if Kyo turned around and said she didn't like Pein that way things would never return to how they had been now. What he had done would always be in her memory, and it would influence whatever either of them did towards each other from now on. Kyo hadn't met his eye, barely spoken to him and acted distant before…so now how would she act? Or would she even bother to return this time? It was a lot bigger than just a change of name, after all.

Drifting silently down the corridors, Pein made his way to his room without looking up or checking for anyone around him. For the moment, he needed to be alone—to think. He had to figure out what to do to make this right again; because it was clear whatever he had done was wrong. There were several reasons as to why Kyo had told him no, turned around and walked off, but somehow Pein couldn't pick one out as the single definite answer. All the time he'd known her and had worked with her had been building up to that moment; as he became friends and got closer it was something he wanted more and more. Whether it was the same with Kyo was another question entirely. Maybe it had been because she wasn't ready; it was a surprise. That was better to think about, at least, than Kyo considering him as a friend only.

But even that he could deal with.

There was just one thing Pein was hoping it wouldn't be. Yes, he wanted Kyo to return how he felt, but if she didn't, it wasn't something he would force on her. But the idea that maybe she _did_ like him; maybe there were the same feelings towards him as he had for her and that it was something Kyo had considered when thinking about him. That it was just a barrier that was present that would always stop her from doing anything. That even if she wanted to be with him more than anything, she would keep herself away and force herself to keep him at arm's length because of that blockade. It was that contemplation that got to Pein the most. He could deal with Kyo not liking him in that way…but not that she was forcing herself to stay away.

Standing by the window, Pein leant against the wall and stared outside, before his eyes closed softly, the frown of confusion never leaving his face. His mind wandered back to the moment in the clearing, running it through his head once more. Her voice…what she had done…whatever it had been about it, Pein hadn't been able to stand back. The kiss had been impulse, but having been planned all along. Immediately it had felt like the right thing to do, especially as Kyo responded. As she _kissed back._ There had to have been something there in order for her to have willingly returned the gesture. Only something must have caught her attention; she realised something and had pushed herself away. Then she had said that…

 _Pein…no, we—we can't. It doesn't matter if I call you by your first name and hang out with you in my spare time…it won't make a difference…_

What did she mean?

Growling softly to himself in frustration, he rubbed his temples, not noticing the soft knock on his door; for a moment not even noticing as Konan slipped in a minute later. But she knew something was wrong before she had even entered the room. She knew he was in there, and he never just remained silent if there was someone at the door. There was the idea he hadn't heard it—but even that was unlike Pein. Being the leader of both Amegakure and the Akatsuki always made him alert—and it was clear Konan's theory was right as she glanced over at him slowly rubbing his temples, snapping his head round to face her as if he hadn't even known she was there.

She greeted him softly, and with a nod in return, he said nothing more, returning his gaze to the outside world. But taking a step forward, Konan questioned gently,

"Pein—what is it?" Though having her suspicions proved as he responded almost in a whisper, half to himself,

"I—I kissed her. I kissed her and she walked away. Did I do something wrong? Did I say something?"

Konan had to resist the urge to smirk, raising an eyebrow at all Pein was doing. Of all the things for him to get so serious about, this would not have been one she would have picked out at first. But then that would have been _before_ Kyo. Now, however, and it seemed likely; though the kiss was a little unexpected. And thinking it over, Konan was wondering if it had been the same for Kyo, too, and finally replied calmly,

"But what about _her_ feelings, Pein? You had to take everything slowly towards Kyo with how she is; so why should this have been any different?"

Pein glanced away, considering this and slowly nodding, remembering that the kiss _had_ been a little impulsive. But he still couldn't help but think there was something more to it than that, and shaking his head, he turned and repeated what Kyo had said to him earlier; what was now echoing around in his brain constantly with him still not knowing what she had meant by the words. Konan, however—being calmer and more rational at the time—narrowed her eyes as she thought about it, but as she ran her eyes over Pein it finally occurred to her, and she stated simply,

"Your leader."

Frowning in confusion at what Konan was saying, she came forward again to continue once more,

"It doesn't matter if I call you by your first name and hang out with you in my spare time, it won't make a difference—you'll still be _her_ _leader_. That's what Kyo meant, Pein. She might be breaking away from the regimented lifestyle she had before and relaxing a little…but she still hasn't fully adapted. From the sound of it you just lunged at her and kissed her. But you know something isn't quite right in her past, and it must have been a little out of the blue. She wasn't prepared for it."

Pein hid a sigh and fully turned his back on Konan, closing his eyes in frustration.

Once again, it had come down to this.


	20. Chapter 20

"Great…"

Pein growled. Sure, he might know what was going on in the situation now…but it still didn't mean he had anything to go on in terms of correcting it. It was delicate situation, and if he did something wrong, then it could end up making it _worse_. So what was he going to do? But it was clear he didn't need to answer that question just yet, as Konan seemed to have found a solution for him, speaking up to say bluntly,

"Maybe action isn't the answer, Pein. There are other ways to go about this. She's trying to deal with all these changes, but it's been alone every step of the way. If you actually spoke to her—apologised for what you did and explained everything that was going on Kyo might just be able to understand and comprehend all that concerns you."

Glancing over his shoulder at Konan, his eyes narrowed as he considered the possibilities of going through with that, Konan merely smirked and nodded in goodbye, turning and leaving the room. She had given him the idea, but there was nothing more she could do—he could be stubborn when he wanted to be, even if he _was_ a god. Pein merely brushed off the smug look on Konan's face for the moment, however, and let her leave, letting his gaze drift as he realised she was right; that he did need to talk to Kyo. A long, in depth conversation that covered everything. Now all he had to do was plan what he was going to say, and things would be fine.

Kyo wasn't quite so much the optimist.

She had gone straight to her room, dodging past anyone that she saw in the corridors and not saying a word. What emotion she was feeling, she hadn't a clue—anger? Happiness? Confusion? All of them seemed to be flitting around her head without managing to come to a firm conclusion about anything. She was angry with Pein—he had known it had been difficult getting her to call him by his first name, let along coming up to her and _kissing_ her like that! But then again, she probably hadn't made it easier with how she acted towards him in the first place. For all she knew she had been egging him on this whole time—it's not like dating techniques and flirting were something she was clued in on; plus, responding immediately when he _had_ kissed her was also probably a sign.

That was where the happiness came in, the anger dissipating like it hadn't even existed in Kyo in the first place. The moment Pein's lips had touched hers it had been like lightning shooting through her body. It had been an automatic reaction for her to respond and hold onto Pein; to bring him closer to her in anyway possible. Kyo had never felt like that in her entire life, but she had liked it. It had overwhelmed her senses until she could think about nothing else—or even think at all. But what added onto this feeling was the sense of almost relief at it happening. With that one kiss, so much seemed to be explained for the both of them. All of it made sense.

Then of course she had remembered her situation…and the happiness faded too.

Finally reaching her room, she flung open the door but closed it quietly, not wanting to arouse _too_ much attention from the other members in the hideout. She threw her cloak and jacket onto her bed, walking straight to the window and leaning against the windowsill, clamping her eyes shut as she tried to do the same to everything else. Even now the memories were jolting through her head like muscle spasms; the feeling of his body flush with hers, her lips fitting perfectly against his as they moved in utter symmetry, so soft, warm and inviting, contrasting with the cold metal of his snakebites as they pressed against Kyo's skin. A shiver of pleasure ran up her spine though she was just recalling it, and shaking her head furiously Kyo tried to break herself out of that trance. She couldn't think like that. She just _couldn't_.

Come on; calling him by his first name was one thing; being in a relationship—a _sexual_ relationship—with him was another thing entirely! Why had it even crossed his mind? It couldn't happen. It wouldn't work; he had to assign her missions and treat her like any other member. If he started dating Kyo, then he'd end up treating her differently and might even favor her over the rest. What if it affected her missions? She needed to concentrate when she was doing them, after all, and missions were what kept her in her job. It would just…ruin everything. So why did she like the idea? Why had everything felt just right when he had kissed her, and that it was all fitting into place? Why did she want to be with Pein so badly?

"Kyo? Are you alright? What's wrong?" A sudden, soft voice called from the door, and instantly standing up and turning round, Kyo came face to face with Itachi, closing the door behind him as he walked over, narrowing his eyes in concern. A part of her felt like making up an excuse at his appearance and getting him to leave; but she had no idea what to do anymore, and turning round to look out at the sunset, she whispered in frustration,

"We kissed. He came over, and…we kissed."

Narrowing his eyes at that information, Itachi paused for a moment as he took it in, but soon shook it off as he realised what he was doing. It was clear Kyo and Pein got on well, and with how much time they spent together…it wasn't that much of a surprise to know that things were going _this_ far. But somehow that statement wasn't happy; but why, Itachi didn't know, prompting him to ask quietly,

"Do you not like him? Are you worried something will happen because of it?"

"It's not that I _didn't_ like it, it's just I…I've never done anything like it before, and he's still my _leader_. It wouldn't be right—I work for him!" Kyo shot back, rubbing her temples as she tried to figure out something that would help this whole situation.

All she would be able to think about when she saw Pein from now on was that moment, constantly reminded of the kiss and all that had happened. She wouldn't be able to continue normally; as if nothing had occurred. Things were a little too complicated for that. But if she hadn't been able to properly look him in the eye after she walked away from him the first time, how would things be now? Realizing this was the second time Kyo had turned her back on Pein as if he didn't matter, she added bitterly,

"He's probably angry with me now."

"Somehow I doubt that, Kyo. You said 'we', so obviously he reacted as well. If that was the case, he can't be angry with you because you weren't ready for it. There's an easy way to deal with that—to just talk to him. To explain why you reacted like that and the truth—that you did like it, but that there are…extenuating circumstances." Itachi answered calmly, never taking his eyes of Kyo as she stood there and nodded slowly in agreement. But as she remembered the other reason she had pulled away from Pein, Itachi continued,

"But as for the rest…there's only so much I, Leader-sama…or _anyone_ can do. You don't have to bow for all of us or obey him completely…you have free will, Kyo, and you have a right to have your own voice. I know you had to deal with a lot from who you worked from before, I'm not trying to denounce that. But I can't force you to change your mind. Unless you realise that Leader-sama isn't about to do anything like that to you, and that he wouldn't let it affect anything, you're never going to allow yourself to get close to him."

Looking down at her feet, Kyo said nothing for a moment, before finally stating a small 'thank you' towards Itachi. Knowing she wanted to be alone, he said goodbye and swiftly left, leaving Kyo still standing there. She knew he was right; that it was her own thoughts that were causing all this trouble and that she had to figure out it all in her mind and come to terms with her life if she wanted to get anywhere—it was just harder than it first seemed. But glancing up, noticing the moon having risen, Kyo walked to her window and climbed out, leaving it open for when she returned as she padded through the trees to talk a walk.

Her unexpected guests were the last people she had been wanting to meet.


	21. Chapter 21

"Nikushimi no danna? What are you doing here?" Kyo burst out, turning to face the group of them with her muscles tensed and eyes narrowed. It had been a while since she had been taken by the Akatsuki, and by now she had thought that they weren't about to come looking for her—or if they had, it had been unsuccessful. But clearly she had thought wrong, as he stepped forward and greeted softly,

"Kyosei, finally. We've been looking for you these past few days; you just disappeared!"

"Things happened, danna. I couldn't—" She quickly responded, not about to mention the Akatsuki. Although everything was problematic at the moment, she wouldn't cause them any trouble—they didn't deserve it. But it seemed like Nikushimi didn't care, interrupting swiftly,

"I know, Kyosei. But we found you; that's what the most important part is. Now you can come back with us and join us again."

With that, he began to turn and walk away, Kyo watching him as he did so, but unable to move—back or forward—for the moment. She knew that when she had been working for him it had been utterly regimented and she had had no say in anything; she merely did as she was told. Being with the Akatsuki had given her so much more freedom and free will, she'd admit it...and she had enjoyed being there. But she still couldn't dismiss all she had been through and the fact he was here now, leaving her unable to move as Nikushimi finally noticed and turned back round, raising an eyebrow at what she was doing.

"I don't know if I can, Nikushimi no danna. It's not so simple." Kyo finally managed to state bluntly, staring at him as he walked a few paces towards her, a strange look on his face, which Kyo had never seen before as he replied, his voice quiet and almost soft,

"But Kyosei…you've worked for me ever since you were young. I gave you a job and a place to stay—the means with which to train and increase your power. You were always loyal to me and did what I asked. I've always been your leader, Kyosei. You were taken and forced to remain here…but your obedience will always be towards me."

Kyo flexed her fingers, swapping her weight from foot to foot and staring at Nikushimi as she thought about it. What he was saying _was_ true. She had spent the majority of her life living and working for him. She had been living and surviving on her own up until she met Nikushimi, and yes, he had given her a job, a place to stay, scrolls to help her train and all the basics that she needed. All she had even known was working for Nikushimi, and as she stared back at him the rules and regulations that had been drilled into her when she first joined flickered back through her mind. That was all so familiar to Kyo. Nikushimi wasn't looking at her with love, friendship or even neutrally, true, but it was what she had always known.

Though it hadn't been that way in the Akatsuki.

Some of the rules that Kyo had been taught while working for Nikushimi seemed ridiculous when put into the context of the Akatsuki. When she compared the likes of Hidan and how disrespectful he was to everyone around him to how people were with Nikushimi…it was a huge difference. They had all treated her well; even when they hadn't really known who she was to start with. They had been allowed to talk to her and allowed to mix, and ultimately meant their teamwork was better than it might have been otherwise. Their organization in general was more flexible and able to adapt. Pein had never looked at her in the way Nikushimi had done, and had treated her with respect even when she had showed up with the Rinnegan out of nowhere.

How things change…

Now Kyo was trying to deal with the fact that not only was she calling her boss by his first name but having had him _kiss_ her in the middle of a training session! She was trying to deal with all these new emotions that were abruptly surfacing without her ever having experienced them before and not having a clue as to what they were! Yes, she had learnt so much from Pein in terms of controlling and mastering the Rinnegan, she knew that…but he had changed everything with how he treated her. From the very beginning with his attitude, to hanging out with her in their spare time, to asking her to call him Pein…to kissing her with that look in his eyes…Kyo had kept up with a lot of things over the time in the Akatsuki…but it appeared her mind hadn't quite caught up with that yet. And she was torn as to what she was supposed to do.

"Kyosei…come on. We're going to have to make some changes; after all, you have the Rinnegan now. Something you neglected to tell me before…"

Without even noticing it Kyo looked down in shame, having never been allowed to keep secrets from Nikushimi. Old habits die hard, when it come down to it, and as Nikushimi reprimanded Kyo for never mentioning it when she had been working with him, she automatically began walking towards him, not even noticing as one of his ninjas brought out some shackles. It felt wrong to be leaving the Akatsuki like this; to just walk away when they had done so much for her—but she had known Nikushimi all her life. He had been the one to imprint her current views and beliefs. And no matter how hard she might have tried, it wasn't possible for her to just drop and leave that all behind. But the Akatsuki were still in her mind—and so was Pein. As such she quickly brought her hands together in handsigns, making sure the Akatsuki would know as the shackles were placed around her wrists and she was led off.

Pein waited an hour or so before he finally decided to talk to Kyo. He wanted her to have some time to herself—walking away from him and going straight to her room indicated she wanted to be alone, and he himself needed time to think about what he was going to be saying to her—which took a lot longer than he had expected. His attitude had changed regularly towards Kyo when he had first met her, going from casual to aggressive, and he didn't want that to happen again. He needed to stay calm and say what he needed to, without sounding patronizing or making things any worse than they already were. It was particularly hard getting to grips with the idea of 'I really liked kissing you but I'm still apologizing for it and I shouldn't have done it'.

But now he had a vague plan of attack, and waiting until most of the Akatsuki had disappeared into their rooms and wouldn't be trying to listen to what was going on, Pein had left his room and padded silently down the corridor towards Kyo's. Pausing as he reached the door, he took a deep breath to prepare himself, before gently knocking—something else he had spent time debating. He didn't want to intrude, but he didn't want her to just refuse; but politeness had won out, and he waited a while, waiting for her to contemplate whether or not to let him in. But as a few minutes passed and he still got no response, he knocked again, harder this time, and called her name out, catching the attention of some of the others.

But once again he got no response.

Narrowing his eyes in concern, Pein opened the door regardless of what she might be doing, and stepped in, halting in his tracks as he did so. There was no one inside, the window open, and for a moment the idea that Kyo had decided to run away flashed through his head—but he immediately shook it off. Kyo had always been taught to obey authority, and even if she was having a lot of issues, there was no way she would abandon those she was working for. So walking over to the window, Pein peered out, gathering she had just gone for a walk—though what he saw completely disproved that. There were signs of a battle and several people having been involved; Pein double taking as he saw a ripped piece of material on the ground. Walking over, he picked it up, staring down at the symbol emblazoned upon it. The one symbol he had been hoping Kyo would be able to forget—before he clenched it in his fist, certain about one thing.

He wasn't going to let them take her again.


	22. Chapter 22

Instantly turning around, Pein looked towards Itachi as he came towards him, having already guessed what had happened, and quickly they fell into conversation, Itachi walking along beside him as they began to go back inside the hideout.

"I saw her about an hour ago, Leader-sama; I went to talk to her. But after that I never saw her leave her room—it must have been after that."

Nodding in agreement, Pein paused for a moment, considering everything. It would have had to be quick; the risk of rousing the Akatsuki to their presence when they were trying to take Kyo back wouldn't have been one Nikushimi would have wanted. Though from the looks of things, the battle wasn't as ferocious as it could have been. Kyo had the power to take them out easily…but she hadn't. True, she hadn't instantly agreed to walk away and follow him, but there was no doubt more she could have done to remain with the Akatsuki at the hideout. Then again, that couldn't be a surprise. After all, Kyo had spent most of her life with him; he'd know what to say and do to get to her.

Scowling to himself as he came back in through the door, he headed straight to his room to grab what he needed, turning to Itachi to ask him to get the subordinates who had taken Kyo in the first place—he couldn't go after her if he didn't know where Nikushimi's hideout was. But he needn't have bothered, as Itachi was already prepared for this question, and replied swiftly,

"His hideout's north-east for a few miles; not long. When Kisame and I came here after our mission, we passed it."

Nodding in thanks to that information, Pein paused as Itachi abruptly added,

"Do you need anyone to come with you?"

"No. Stay here; I won't be long." Pein stated bluntly in return, determination evident in his eyes as he stared directly ahead of him.

It wasn't just a statement, however. It was a promise.

From there, Pein was ready, and left his room and went back down the corridor, saying nothing to the Akatsuki as they watched everything unfold. He broke into a run the moment he was outdoors, following Itachi's directions and turning northeast. He doubted it would be too far away; when the subordinates had grabbed Kyo and taken her to the hideout, she can't have woken up before they had arrived, otherwise she would have tried to break free. Therefore their travelling time must have been short in order for her to have remained unconscious all that time. Pein was half glad about this and half unsure. True, it meant that he would be able to get there quickly, but it also meant that they would have arrived by now—and he didn't know what they were planning on doing.

They had to have known that they would notice, and that they would try and come after her; the fact that Kyo wasn't locked up in a cell and merely staying in her own room at the hideout was evidence that she wasn't a prisoner to them. If she wasn't a prisoner, then clearly Kyo meant something, so it was obvious the Akatsuki wouldn't just let it be. Nikushimi had to have something up his sleeve if he was going to go down this road and simply take her back to the hideout—he had to have been planning something. Why did Nikushimi think he could just grab Kyo and walk away without anything happening? He couldn't be that stupid. Though he might not know just how much Kyo mattered to him, he had to have known there was some connection there—there wouldn't have been a struggle if he hadn't.

But then Kyo popped up into his head again and Pein began to think otherwise. He _knew_ why Nikushimi was doing things like this—he felt he had an advantage; and in a way, he did. Kyo had worked and lived with him practically all her life, and had lived under his rules. Though things had been changing lately, it was what she knew. It had been Nikushimi's beliefs imprinted onto her as a child and as she grew up, and no matter what the Akatsuki or he could have said or done, there would still be remnants of them there. Pein hadn't been able to understand her at first; the way she had acted towards him and the kind of things she did. She had even confused Itachi and Konan with her actions—and it had been because of the way she had been treated by Nikushimi.

Because he still got to Kyo. She couldn't just switch off all that had been implanted into her brain the moment she stepped out of the hideout. To her, it was normal—it was familiar. Not to mention everything that had gone on. With what he had asked of her she had been confused and unable to comprehend why he was doing it, almost appearing scared at the idea of the suggestion. It had been a long shot to get Kyo to accept that, but now he had kissed her…she was confused and uncertain of so much around her, and no doubt had been concerned about how things would go from there after she had walked away from him when he had kissed her. They had been thoughts that Pein, too, had been considering, and it would only have been even more prominent in her mind—she still didn't quite understand the concept.

Whether Nikushimi had known it or not, it had been the perfect time to strike. Kyo hadn't known what to do in the Akatsuki anymore or how to react to Pein—it was becoming unsure and unfamiliar. But Nikushimi…the life she had had when working and living there…it was something Kyo knew better than anything. Though she could doubt the way he treated her and the idea of leaving the Akatsuki, it must have seemed like an option for her. What do you do when you feel like doing when everything around you is new and unfamiliar? You return home to things you used to know. Kyo must have felt like doing the same—but hadn't quite been able to fully let go of the Akatsuki. There was still a part of her that knew Nikushimi was wrong.

So what was it he had said that had sealed the deal?

It wouldn't have been a threat; Kyo knew that the Akatsuki could take care of themselves, and they were all there, and threatening her wouldn't have worked either with how well she could defend herself. Not to mention Nikushimi wanted Kyo to work for him—it was why he had approached her when she was a child. He wouldn't risk harming her now; her abilities had only increased as she grew up—but of course. They were even more powerful _now_ …because Kyo had the Rinnegan. She hadn't shown it to Nikushimi before; he hadn't known she had possessed it. But now it was constantly activated in her eyes, and he would have spotted it. With her compulsion to obey those who were superior to her, Nikushimi would only have had to state how disappointed he was in Kyo; that she shouldn't have kept it from him and that she had disobeyed him to catch her attention. To make her feel guilty enough to go with him.

But Pein wasn't about to believe that that was it. Kyo had purposefully left clues to make sure they figured out what had happened to her, and she wouldn't have done that if she was utterly willing to follow Nikushimi. When she had finally agreed to call him Pein, the days after that her attitude had changed. She had been more relaxed in herself and allowed more of herself to be visible to those around her. Nikushimi had tried to suppress her identity from the moment he hired her when she was younger. He had trapped her in this way of thinking, and Pein couldn't just let Kyo pass up the chance of finding her own way and choosing her own path, his determination rising as the hideout finally appeared up ahead. He glanced over the building, figuring out what he would do, before steeling himself and continuing on towards it.

He'd made that promise…and he was going to keep it.


	23. Chapter 23

Kyo had been led, still shackled, into the building, with no one saying a word as to what was going to be happening next. Not that Kyo felt like responding; there was too much going on in her head to consider that. An unusual feeling of guilt was building up inside of her at the idea she had just turned her back on the Akatsuki. But even worse, a feeling of worry. The last time she had seen Pein, she had pulled away from his kiss, told him that she couldn't do it even though it hadn't mattered a few seconds ago, and then simply turned and go straight to her room without another word. What if he was angry with her for doing that? He might not check up on her, and although Itachi had spoken to her, he knew she wanted to be left alone, and as such had gone. Kyo might have left evidence to show where she had been taken…

But would Pein even bother to go looking for her?

For all she knew he had already found her trail, but had merely brushed it off, taking it as a sign that it wasn't to be and was more than ready to forget her. And strangely enough, though Kyo had just walked off with Nikushimi without truly having a battle, she wanted Pein to come. She didn't want him to forget her. It was at this point that she scowled at herself, glancing up at the dark, dreary corridors that lined her former home, wondering what would happen in the next few days, or better yet, the next few _hours_. When she had worked here, she had been decisive and always ready for whatever was thrown at her. Now she couldn't make sense of anything, and she was contradicting her thoughts at every turn. Kyo had stood there and pushed Pein away, and yet she wanted him to be with her. She felt guilty for having not told Nikushimi about the Rinnegan, and yet she didn't care and that she had had every right to say nothing after the way he treated her.

How the treatment would be now, Kyo wasn't quite sure—especially as she saw she was being led up to the prison area of the building. Nikushimi didn't like failures in his business, Kyo knew that, and no doubt secrecy wasn't something he allowed either. But he wanted her to work for him; it was why he had come back. He wouldn't do anything _too_ serious if he was planning on keeping her alive and able to work. But then again—as Kyo walked past rows of cells and remembering the fates of several people who had been placed in there—she began to wonder how far he was willing to go to 'convince' her to stay. To make sure she wouldn't do anything of the sort again.

But after all that she had done…did she deserve it?

Eventually they halted at the last cell on the row, the door creaking open and revealing the bare, desolate room Kyo was now to be occupying for the near future. Glancing at Nikushimi, his neutral look of almost care he had carried before had all but disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a stern disapproving glare as he nodded for her to step forward. She walked in in silence, going to perch on the edge of the bed and staring thoughtfully out the window. The door slammed shut behind her, the click of the lock sounding out to remind Kyo that she was stuck in here. Footsteps sounded out as the ninja began to leave; though Nikushimi paused to mutter one more thing:

"I can't just dismiss it, Kyosei. You kept that from me—something very important. I considered you the most trustworthy ninja out of all my employees, but now…now I just don't know. I have to make sure I can rely on you again, Kyosei. And you will not leave this cell until I have tested that—until I know."

With that, he walked off swiftly, leaving Kyo sitting alone, her gaze still firmly placed on the sky outside. Bizarrely enough, Kyo wasn't that shocked by the turn of events. She had seen first hand what Nikushimi did to those who disobeyed him or got in his way—sometimes she had been the one to hand out the punishment. Though it had never been turned towards her; because she had never disobeyed him. Not even with the slightest little thing—even if she didn't agree with what he was doing and she had had issues with doing it. Somehow Kyo had overridden that idea and just ploughed on with what she was supposed to do. Keeping the Rinnegan a secret had been the first thing she had even done that went against Nikushimi's rules. Because of that she had met Pein.

But shaking her head, Kyo turned away from the window for a moment. True, she had met Pein. She had experienced an entirely different lifestyle with entirely different values and rules. But had it been more trouble than it was worth? A large portion of Kyo's time in the Akatsuki had been trying to get her head around things; to understand so much that she didn't understand and that ultimately caused her a lot of grief overall. Because of staying with the Akatsuki she had had to completely change her outlook on life, and get to grips with how she saw Pein—something that still wasn't fully right. She had barely slept after his question, and the fact he had kissed her had messed things up completely.

Maybe it would have been better if she had just told Nikushimi about the Rinnegan from the start—from when it first turned up. Then he would have ordered her to train it and master the abilities, and she could have continued as normal. Nothing would have changed. The set of rules and beliefs that had been given to her when she was younger would have stayed firm and never been challenged. Kyo wouldn't have had to deal with all this mental turmoil and these new emotions that she was barely able to comprehend. Life would have been just like it always had been from the moment Nikushimi had hired her. It was the way she knew and the way that was familiar to her—though suddenly it seemed wrong as she glanced around the cell. She was in a cell…how could she consider that familiar?

True, when Kyo had first turned up at the Akatsuki Pein had stated she would simply be staying in the hideout and having the members keep a close eye on her; but even then he hadn't locked her up—and that was when he hadn't been sure if she was an enemy or an ally. When he had decided to let her be an Akatsuki member, however, things had gotten even better. Though she followed the orders Pein gave her, the whole routine was nowhere near as regimented as it had been with Nikushimi. If anything, there was no routine; it was almost a case of 'do what you want until told otherwise'. Upon meeting Hidan for the first time and seeing how he treated Pein, Kyo had been shocked—but he wasn't punished. True, Pein didn't like it, but it was nothing like she was being treated now. While in the Akatsuki she had had a lot more freedom and a lot more free will. Boundaries Kyo had always seen as permanent and ones that must never be crossed had simply been destroyed.

That had been clear when Pein had kissed her.

But was that a bad thing?

It was a _massive_ change from here, and unlike anything she had seen before. A part of Kyo, even now, was still a little disbelieving of the entire thing; it didn't fit in with how she had always seen the world and acted towards her job. But that didn't necessarily make it wrong. Pein had gotten so far with the Akatsuki and they held so much power with how they were; their rules and atmosphere. A lot of things changed constantly around them—but if anything, that improved things. Maybe it was because things had always been so stable in Kyo's life—constantly living in the same routine of a monotony of rules, regulations and duties that meant nothing to her—that this change was so shocking. That it made her feel as if she couldn't deal with it. But everything had to change; it was the way nature worked, and people had to adapt to it. She wanted to ask Pein his opinion; ask why he used that method of working with the Akatsuki—but he wasn't around. Which was why Kyo was so surprised when she heard his voice a second later. Freezing, she tried to shake it off, thinking it had just been a mistake. But when she heard it again, she knew she couldn't just be remembering the sound of it, and as such she stood, walking to the window and fully looking down, widening her eyes at what she saw.

He really was here.

And by the looks of things…he was here for _her._


	24. Chapter 24

Kyo could see Pein standing there, bodies already scattered around, and watched as he spoke again—gritting her teeth as she realised she couldn't fully make out what he was saying. But closing her eyes, she placed her hands in a handsign, willing her chakra and controlling it, redirecting it in order to heighten her senses, and therefore her hearing. Once it was completed, she returned to her before position, turning to see Nikushimi finally appear to face Pein. He didn't come down to the courtyard, however; he remained on the first floor—no doubt as a way to keep his nerves back. Pein was angry, after all—and not many, if any at all, could walk away unscathed when facing Pein eye to eye. Nikushimi could stand there and act as if he had every advantage over him, but that wouldn't stop the twinge of fear that was in the back of his mind.

"Where is she, Nikushimi? Where is Kyo?" Pein stated calmly up at him, the anger evident in his eyes and face not showing through his voice. But Nikushimi wasn't about to give her up easily, replying bluntly,

"And why would I tell you? She's _mine_. She's worked for me for practically her entire life! You really think she would just turn around and agree to work with you when you dragged her there?"

"She seemed to like it enough to willingly stay for the last few days. Kyo could have run at any time—but she never did. And now—"

"But of course she wouldn't!" Nikushimi cut in abruptly, laughing mockingly as he went on quickly,

"Obedience is all Kyosei knows. It's what she _lives_ for. It didn't matter that you had kidnapped her; as she had no choice but to stay—as you were forcing her to remain there—she was going to obey you as she knew you were superior. But that can't override _me_. She obeyed me longer than she's ever obeyed you, and you can't change that."

"No; you're right, I can't. But she shouldn't have to obey anyone!" Pein suddenly burst out, Kyo blinking in surprise as she watched from the window. For a moment she closed her eyes, overwhelmed with what she was hearing. What Pein was saying was not from the view of a leader. He was talking about her well-being and her identity, not as an asset; a weapon. She could only stand frozen in shock as Pein then went on,

"With the power Kyo possesses, it shouldn't be a matter of people _telling_ her she has to work somewhere. She has every right to pick where she wants to work and make her own decisions as to her life!"

Sighing sarcastically, Nikushimi walked forward a few steps, gazing down patronizingly at Pein. No ninjas were about to run out and attack him; not that it would matter. He would easily be able to take them down—so Nikushimi had to be careful. The key to all of this working out was Kyo. If he could get to him with what he was saying, then he could manipulate Kyo into facing him—and there was no way Pein was about to kill her, even if she hadn't possessed the power she did. For a moment he remained in silence, but grinning maliciously, he stated plain and simple,

"But you're forgetting one thing. Even if I gave Kyosei the choice, she would still come and work for me. You don't know how she's been all her life. She's like a dog; always returning to her master. I tell her to sit, to roll over…to _beg_ …and she'd do it. She's completely under my thumb! I'll admit you got to her, yes…but that doesn't mean my control is gone."

Abruptly a flash of anger shot through Kyo as she stood at the window, clenching her fist around the bar on the window. She had trained herself not to pay attention to emotions or let them show when she was a child, and it had only been heightened when she joined Nikushimi. But that had meant she never got angry at him when he told her she wasn't good enough or that she was weak. She simply nodded in acceptance and did whatever was necessary to make things otherwise. She had never been allowed to state her opinion or what she felt about things, after all, so there was no point letting it get to her. But now things had changed. When in the Akatsuki she had been told she _did_ have freedom, and she _did_ have free will to state what she was thinking. Her emotions had been brought to the surface with everything to do with Pein, and even more so when Nikushimi had turned up and told her to return with him. Her emotions were still hovering around now—and it was like she finally understood the insults in a way she hadn't done before.

He was standing there calling her a dog— _treating_ her like one—and all this time she had let it be. Kyo had needed to hear it from someone else to realise just how far things had gone; not even the people she had served for so long saw her with any respect. Now she was standing there, locked up in a cell after having walked here willingly, to sit and listen to Nikushimi badmouth her. As she glanced down at Pein, she frowned as she realised it had been wrong to leave evidence that she had gone with Nikushimi; because now she had forced him to get involved in this mess. She had insinuated that he had to be the one to help her—when Kyo should have gotten herself out of this a long time ago. For all the power she possessed; the reason why Nikushimi had hired her, the reason Pein had kept her at the hideout and then agreed to let her become an Akatsuki member…Kyo had been sitting back and letting people fight her battles for her. It was like she had needed permission to be _herself._ But Pein had been right; she didn't need it. He had given her all she needed to carve a new path out of one that had been set in stone for her from the beginning.

So now she had to take it.

Stepping back, Kyo released the bar and turned round, snapping the chain connecting her shackles with ease, before ripping them off completely. Facing her cell door, she took a deep breath, building up her chakra, before slamming a kick into the metal, causing it to snap completely off its hinges and crash into the cell opposite. She wasted no time from there, quickly running down the corridor in order to reach Pein and Nikushimi. Several ninjas came to investigate the noise she had created, but she easily took them down as she speeded on through the building. Every obstacle in her way she destroyed completely, darting through the debris and smoke left behind as she heard noises from the courtyard. Clearly Kyo wasn't the only one fighting back, and she picked up her pace to reach it. Seeing the destruction in the courtyard, she heard Nikushimi's voice speak up as she headed towards it,

"Do you really think doing all of this is going to get you anywhere? It's not going to bring you Kyo—it's not going to convince her to join you."

By this point she was behind him, and as the smoke cleared to reveal Pein standing a few metres away, Kyo growled,

"I might as well—there's nowhere I can stay _here_ , is there?"

Spinning round to face her, Nikushimi finally saw the destruction Kyo had caused to the building, widening his eyes as he looked back down at her and questioned as to what she had done, his face falling into a glare as he remained adamant that she had always obeyed him. But unbothered by his attempts, Kyo simply took another few steps forward towards him, grabbing the front of his shirt as she replied calmly,

"I have survived on my own for the entirety of my life…and I have never needed you. My fault was mistaking slavery for obedience—and I won't make it twice."

With that, she unsheathed a kunai, lunging forward to deal several fatal blows, his body slumping to the floor a moment later, leaving Pein now standing in front of her. Glancing down for a moment, the adrenalin from the battle fading slightly, she finally approached him, apologizing for having let herself get manipulated by Nikushimi. But Pein merely shook his head, knowing it hadn't been her fault; having never truly realised how badly she had been treated.

"I'd known you had it in you to break free, Kyo…I just didn't think it would come out quite like it did." But smirking, Kyo shrugged imperceptibly, glancing back at the building to respond quietly,

"I finally realised the truth; I guess I had to hear it from someone else. I was still dealing with a lot when I was a child, and Nikushimi gave me stability. I suppose I was too busy concentrating on that to notice when the line began to blur, and I became a slave to what he wanted. But thank you for coming, Pein…you didn't have to. I'd turned my back on you."

"Because you didn't really have a choice—but I want to give you one now. I don't want you to feel you have to stay in the Akatsuki because the subordinates took you to us and I told you that you had to stay. It is your choice if you come back, Kyo. I will not influence it."

Glancing up into his eyes, Kyo considered his words. The idea that she no longer had Nikushimi's influence there felt liberating, it was true, and it would give her a chance to see the world from a whole new viewpoint without him. But as she thought everything over…over all she'd been through and all she experienced…she answered firmly,

"I want to come back to the Akatsuki, Pein. You've shown me so much, and gave me freedom in my mind before I had it literally. I want to see things differently now, yes…but you've never tried to make me see things in a certain way. I like working with you."

Pein held back a full smile at her words, merely smirking and nodding in acceptance, admitting he was glad to hear it. With that, they finally turned and walked away from the rubble, Kyo turning her back on it for good, a feeling of relief washing over her as she realised that fact. She was returning to the hideout and getting her life back. Things had changed…and she was adapting herself to them. A thought flickered at the back of her mind for a moment, however, and she glanced up at Pein, remembering what had occurred between them, not noticing him doing the same thing when she looked down. He still had all he wanted to tell Kyo fresh in his mind.

They had a lot to talk about…

But it could wait for now.


	25. Chapter 25

By the time they got back to the hideout, everyone was waiting inside.

Not that it was particularly a case of worry for the majority of them; but they wanted to see what was happening, and as Pein and Kyo came through the door they all turned to look, standing and coming over. Several questions were asked as to what exactly had been going on, when from their point of view she had just disappeared, with Pein saying nothing in explanation and following alone. Even Itachi had said nothing—though he clearly knew what was going on—because of the uncertainty as to whether Pein wanted him to say anything. As such, they were left to tell their story, Pein looking towards them all to begin speaking, not willing to say much. Kyo had been through a lot these past few days, and he didn't want them all getting involved in it.

He just hadn't expected Kyo to step forward before he got a chance to say a word, facing them all without a trace of nerves on her face as she responded simply,

"The people I used to work for came back for me—and I ended up getting taken back to their hideout. I left enough evidence for Pein to figure that out, and as such he followed me. There was a little fighting involved, true, but we worked together and got out of there without too much hassle to return back to you all, and I made sure that it wouldn't happen again."

Nodding in acceptance of her description, they asked a few more questions as to whether she was all right and if she was really staying in the Akatsuki as a full member now—not to mention about the fact she had the Rinnegan. Pein watched Kyo for a moment, smirking slightly at how she was already reacting now she knew Nikushimi's influence had gone entirely, before turning around and leaving the lounge, heading towards his room. He needed to clean himself up a bit…he needed to think, and for a moment pushed his thoughts aside as he silently opened and closed the door behind him, slinging off his cloak and walking immediately to the bathroom.

A few seconds later and he was in the shower, closing his eyes as he let the water flow over his face and body. He knew there was so much he needed to consider, but he allowed himself this one moment of peace, concentrating on the sound of the water; the feel of it against his skin. It slowly calmed him, and eventually he stepped out, getting redressed and padding over to the bed, sinking down onto it as he remained in complete silence. Because he knew it wouldn't always be that way. He was going to have to accept it sometime, and finally he glanced back up from the floor, scanning the room, almost to check as if someone was there, and as his gaze fell onto the door, and what he knew was outside, the thoughts were finally released into his mind.

That conversation between Pein and Kyo was still waiting to be said, after all. He had spent so long trying to figure out what he would say and do, and he knew he was going to have to say something. It didn't matter what had occurred with Nikushimi; now Kyo was back in the atmosphere of the Akatsuki and living back in the hideout, dealing with the same sort of routine as before…the memory of the kiss would come back. Pein still didn't know her full opinion on how she felt about it. True, she had tried to explain, but it hadn't been enough. He needed to hear it from her. He needed to say his own side in return. They wouldn't be able to just continue on like it was before—because this problem hadn't gotten rid of what had happened.

But when was a good time to say it?

Kyo had been a lot more relaxed around him after getting rid of Nikushimi and breaking out, and there hadn't been any signs of awkwardness between them during or after when they had walked back to the hideout together. It didn't seem like Kyo was uncomfortable with him being around or worried about what was going on; she had thanked him for coming to try and help her. But Pein knew the issue wasn't over. He knew it still hovered in the air, and would only envelope everything else if he didn't try and do something about it. After all, he never acted like that usually. He planned things out; thought before he acted. And yet still he had simply lunged in and kissed her. His feelings were evident—of course he had to talk to Kyo.

It was what he'd wanted all along.

Kyo had managed to answer most questions that the other Akatsuki had thrown at her, and after grabbing a drink and a quick snack she had retreated to her room. A shower was the first thing on her mind, needing to wash away the remnants of the battle from her skin—and the last dredges of the mindset she had carried when working for Nikushimi. By the time she was finished and she lay upon the bed, she felt refreshed and released from so much of what had held her back before. It was at this moment that Kyo allowed the pleasure of having done what she had to wash over her, a slight excitement at the new life ahead of her surfacing as she considered the near future. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply and just taking in the silence all around her—before Pein popped up into her head.

While sitting in that cell—hearing what Pein and Nikushimi were saying—Kyo had realised she had sat back and not let herself truly do anything without having someone give her permission to do so. She had made a promise to not let it happen anymore; that she had to stand up for what she believed in and finally make some choices in her life. To not always rely on other people to dictate how her life would turn out—but she still wasn't sure when it came down to what happened with Pein. He clearly wasn't angry at her for turning away from him; he had come to help her, and when Nikushimi's threat was gone, Pein had approached her and had asked her to willingly join the Akatsuki without having to be forced to work for them. It wasn't possible for him to have done all that if he was angry—so Kyo could at least be thankful for that.

But there was still something there—that made him hold back as they had returned to the hideout. Though it had been a companionable silence, it hadn't exactly been content; as if each was waiting for the other to speak up and say something. Then later he had disappeared at the hideout as the others had moved forward to ask her questions, clearly wanting to be alone. Kyo had noticed it, but had let him be, knowing she wanted the same thing; knowing she had a lot to be thinking about as well. Kyo knew that in the same way that it was with her, Pein's mind remained on that kiss—and what would be happening now it had occurred.

Because things had changed. A huge part of what had made Kyo unsure about how Pein was treating her and about what he was doing had been because of her view on authority. Because of the way she had been taught to deal with superiors and how obedience had always been the top priority in anything she had to do in life. The idea that he was getting close to her in a friendly way—in a _romantic_ way—was one that hadn't sat comfortably with Kyo, and as such she had done all she could to push herself away and keep him at arm's length. But it wasn't like that anymore. Now she knew that what she had been doing was acting like a servant and a slave; that just because someone was her boss didn't mean she was any less of a person when she spoke to them and worked with them. Her feelings didn't mean any less; and it was the same with Pein. By confronting Nikushimi and the way he had been treating her, Kyo had been able to move past that part of her life and find something bigger and better for her. She was beginning to think that only by confronting the way in which she viewed Pein and how she felt would she ever be able to move forward with that; because she knew she felt something for him. She had to talk to him—to find out whether this was just one-sided. But when was the right time? A question she was never able to answer as a soft voice stated abruptly,

"Kyo…I need to talk to you."


	26. Chapter 26

Immediately Kyo jumped up to face Pein from her position on the bed, surprised.

It was like she had called something into existence; the moment she began to think about approaching Pein to talk to him about everything, and he appeared in her room a second later. She glanced up at his face, seeing a calm expression on his face, though a firm determination was evident in his eyes; as if he wasn't about to leave this room until he had said what he needed to say and done what he needed to do. She could understand his opinion, though—they needed to get it out into the open if anything was to come to a conclusion. But clearly he had accepted things a lot quicker than Kyo had done, though Kyo had gathered that from the start.

After all, Pein had been the one to ask her to call him by his first name, and when he had kissed her, it was he who had instigated it. When she pulled away and said she wasn't sure it was a good idea, Pein hadn't agreed with it and asked her to forget about it. He had looked confused and almost disappointed at what had happened and how Kyo had turned and walked away from him. It wasn't as if Kyo _didn't_ want to accept all that had gone on, but there had been so many conflicting things in her mind as to how she should act. Her instinct told her to go along with it—but what she had been brought up to believe had consistently got in the way.

Now it had all changed, and it wasn't like that anymore. Kyo could look on the same situation with new eyes, and truly determine how she wanted things to go. The emotions that had been surfacing throughout her time in the Akatsuki—as she adapted to the environment and spent all her time with Pein as she trained and just generally hung out with him—were ones she hadn't understood. They had confused Kyo and ultimately made things harder when she had to make a choice as to what to do about them. But now time had passed and altered things, and Kyo was starting to comprehend them in a way she had never thought she would be able to do before. The feelings she could see and feel coming from Pein were ones she now shared.

Something that he couldn't help but be relieved at.

True, Pein had known something within Kyo had to have changed when she had decided to break out herself and confront Nikushimi on her own. But a battle situation was very different to one like this. Both of them had always been emotionless throughout their lives, and although they had things they would fight for and protect, it had never been openly that they had expressed their feelings. However, that idea and gone out the window as the emotions came more and more to the surface, and to achieve some sort of normality between them both and just generally in themselves, it had to be accepted.

He had seen where his feelings were headed when he started contemplating asking Kyo about dropping the formalities around him. The more time he spent with her, the more Pein understood just what was happening, and he had realised just what he felt for her. But even if he had accepted them quicker than Kyo had done—or even comprehended them—he still had held back. He'd never exactly dealt with it before, and as such he didn't quite know how to react to all of it—which had only brought it out in a more potent form than he probably would have liked. Pein had been slightly concerned as to how Kyo would return his actions when he went to talk to her; whether she would be willing to have this conversation and allow him to speak—to say what she felt herself. But upon seeing her standing there now, Pein knew she was fine with letting this happen, and as such, as Kyo nodded in greeting at his presence, he responded quietly,

"I know this is a little unexpected—and I apologise for not knocking."

But shaking her head, Kyo dismissed it. She would have done the same, and it didn't matter that she hadn't known he was going to be there. She just wanted to hear what he had to say—prompting him to take a slight breath as he went on,

"I feel I should apologise for what I did when we last trained together. I shouldn't have just kissed you like that; it was impulsive and with all that you've been through having to deal with something you weren't prepared for wasn't right. I didn't mean to scare you; to make you leave. I just didn't stop to think—"

"No; I should be apologizing, Pein," Kyo suddenly cut in, calm as anything as she stared back into Pein's eyes while she continued,

"I shouldn't have walked away from you, I know that. You…surprised me. But I wasn't scared, if that's what you're wondering. I just couldn't understand why you were doing it; well, all of it. Asking to call you by your first name and kissing me."

A part of Pein hesitated as he knew how he would have to respond, unsure how it would sound out loud and what Kyo would think of him when he said it. But he had accepted what he felt a while ago, knew that they weren't about to fade anytime soon and understood that he couldn't keep on hiding it. He wasn't about to be ashamed of it, and returning Kyo's gaze without wavering, he stated bluntly in reply,

"I care about you, Kyo. A lot. That's why I did it. Why was that so strange for you to consider—or maybe still is?"

"You are my leader, Pein, even if I do not call you it. You remain my boss, regardless of what happens."

A small silence developed between the two of them with these words. Just like it had been from the start; this issue was the one that had caused all the problems. That had continued to distance them and affected so much between them. It was the reason for so many different things in Kyo's life—but they had reached a milestone. A huge change had occurred, and Pein couldn't help but hope that it wasn't the case anymore.

"I may be your leader, Kyo, but I'm still a person."

"No, I didn't mean for it to sound like—" Kyo tried to protest, but shaking his head Pein interrupted her to reply softly,

"I know. But I know there are a lot of things that separate me from the general population. However…there are things that still connect me. I still get affected by certain things—things even I can't control. Though I may have tried to say they didn't matter before, it still doesn't stop what is happening now. I had just hoped that fact wouldn't get in the way."

For a moment afterwards, Kyo could find nothing to say in return to that. Pein wasn't an emotional person; he remained aloof and phlegmatic throughout the jobs he did and the relationships he formed. Even the emotions that did come to the surface were ones that only those who knew him well could see and understand. He had to remain strong for the things he had to do. So for him to be standing there and saying something like that…Kyo knew it had a lot more meaning than most people would consider it to have. For once he was dismissing all that he was in the ninja world and all that he had worked for—to concentrate on what he felt for Kyo. He was almost remorseful at the idea that what his job and title entailed was what was keeping them apart, and was doing all he can to try and get her to see him in an entirely more intimate way than the rest of the world.

"It shouldn't do;" Kyo abruptly breathed, causing Pein to snap out of his thoughts at her silence, narrowing his eyes at her words as she added with a small smirk,

"And I'm sorry that it ever did. Because it's not that way anymore."

Pein wasted no more time he remaining where he was, padding softly over to Kyo to slide his hand across her cheek, taking one more moment to gaze into her eyes. Somehow, with her Rinnegan activated, it felt like they were more connected than they had ever been, seeing just how many similarities they had reflected in her eyes. This time she did nothing to move away or try and get away from his gaze, merely allowing him to get this close, breathing in his scent and feeling her heartbeat increase as his body heat seeped through his body to hers.

Then slowly he leant in, pressing his lips gently but firmly against hers, and Kyo allowed her instincts to take over, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself closer to him. Their lips moved in perfect symmetry, Pein's tongue snaking out to drag across her bottom lip, already starting to worm inside her mouth. Kyo responded by biting his bottom lip, moving to lick and suck at his lip piercings, smirking as a low groan emitted from Pein's throat, having not been fully prepared for that. He replied by not bothering with asking anymore, ramming his tongue into her mouth to explore, doing the same to her body with his hands. He slid her clothes off as Kyo did the same to him, tracing patterns across his chest, her breathing heavy at the feeling of their bodies against each other; nothing separating them anymore as Pein moved her over to the bed and climbed on top, all problems that might have existed dissipating from their minds.

All that mattered was each other.


End file.
